SPACE WITH GOD NEEDED
Although by this time in my life, I should not be surprised, nevertheless I am. I continue being surprised at what happens to us when, in the midst of the stress and strain of life, we stop long enough to catch our breath. Renewal comes. New perspective is gained. Equilibrium is restored.
This came home to me again recently on a day when I was deeply troubled. The day had started off not very well. Yet I had a class to meet. As I neared the end of the class session, I was convinced that it was time for me to stop the regular routines and catch my breath, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So, even though my day had been planned in one way, I decided that I had to have some time out. I informed our faculty secretary that I would be gone for the day. And this is what I did. A service of worship was being held not far away. I slipped into a back seat and did more observing than participating. I was too emotionally numb to do much else. I’m so glad the worship leader didn’t say what I have heard too many say: “Leave your burdens at the door and come in to worship the Lord.” I desperately needed to bring my burdens in and offer them up to the Lord. I needed to bring my worn-out, weary self into God’s presence. God, you see, wants us to be our real selves in his presence, not our pretend selves. He never wants us to play church. When we go to church, we ought always to take all our burdens, hurts, anxieties, frustrations with us so we can offer them up to the Lord and see what he will do with them. That’s what I did that day.
After the service, I got into my car and began driving. Since the weather was not pleasant for outdoor walking, I went to several big stores and walked the aisles. I wasn’t interested in buying anything; in fact, as I looked at the merchandise, I hardly knew what I was looking at. My mind was on other matters. I was simply in motion. In one store, I walked up and down every aisle.
After I grew weary doing that, I drove up and down the not-so-busy county roads, saying nothing to God except what my heart was crying out. I was reminded of Romans 8:26-27 that states that “the [Holy] Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”1 On that difficult day, I once again, as I had so many times before, experienced the Holy Spirit interceding on my behalf “with sighs too deep for words.”
In a little town in another part of the county, I went into a restaurant and had lunch alone. After some more driving, I went home where I spent more time in seclusion.
What a difference that time out made! While the issues that troubled me had not been resolved, something miraculous had happened, nevertheless. I had caught my breath for the journey of life and faith. I had gained enough equilibrium not to make hasty decisions. My spirit was renewed. I had a perspective on important matters.
My friend, we are not talking here about a quick fix for complicated matters in life. Instead, we are talking about catching one’s breath spiritually for the journey of life and faith.
JESUS GOING APART EVERY NIGHT
That’s what Jesus did. For example, during the final, painful days of his incarnational life, he was in continual tension with the religious authorities. He was teaching controversial things. He knew that there were those out to get him and that even within the circle of his disciples there was unrest. Linked with all of this unsettledness, Jesus realized that his was not simply another human life alongside all other human lives, but that he was playing a unique and history-changing role in the grand scheme of God’s plan to redeem the world. Therefore, it was especially important for him to make decisions that were in harmony with the eternal plans of God. It was crucial that he respond to people and to criticism and to circumstances in such a way that God’s good plan would be accomplished. Jesus, you see, was not a salvation machine on which God in heaven pushed the buttons and pulled the levers thereby doing his redeeming work. No, Jesus was a volitional person who made decisions, like us. He was not a holy robot, but a holy person. Being the holy person he was, he made all the right decisions—not because he was pre-programmed to make them, but because he loved God supremely in the midst of the give and take of real, historical life.
Part of Jesus’ approach for making right decisions is that he stopped to catch his breath spiritually in the midst of the stress and strain of his journey of life and faith. He wants us to do the same.
Notice what Jesus said to his disciples during his stressful, final days with them. Luke 21:34-36: “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch your unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
In this passage, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the tribulation that is to come at the end of the age. What is true of being prepared for that end-time occurrence is equally true for the trials and tribulations of life prior to the end-time. “Be on guard”; “Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape”—that’s important advice regardless of whether it is a matter of the end-time or in the meantime.
After giving this advice to his disciples, we read in the very next verse what Jesus did to put this into practice. Every day, after he finished teaching in the temple, he left the city and spent the night on the Mount of Olives.
This was Jesus’ way of staying on guard. During the day he was at work in Jerusalem; at night he went out to the Mount of Olives. He spent every night away from his primary responsibilities of teaching. Those nights on the Mount of Olives were times for him to catch his breath spiritually for the journey. That does not mean that they were play times, or fun times, or relaxing times. It means that they were times for withdrawing from the strain and stress of controversy. For Jesus, withdrawal, however, did not mean that when he went back into the fray, all of the problems would be resolved. Actually, they got worse: he was betrayed by Judas, disappointed by Peter, abused by religious leaders, crucified by Roman authorities. Most importantly, he had caught his breath for the final onslaught. He was spiritually ready for it. That didn’t mean that he wanted the onslaught; in fact, he very much disliked the prospects of it. We see this in Jesus’ prayer on the night before his crucifixion when in the Garden of Gethsemane he pled, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). Nevertheless, because Jesus had stopped to catch his breath spiritually, he was able to go ahead and pray: “yet, not my will but yours be done.”
IS IT TIME FOR YOU TO STOP FOR AWHILE?
My friend, are you rushing headlong into the trials and tribulations of life without any sense of the divine perspective on what your life is about? If so, that is the recipe for spiritual and emotional disaster. You need to stop and catch your breath. When you do so, don’t deny your anguish. Don’t pretend before God that everything is all right when he already knows it isn’t.
Take some time apart from the primary responsibilities of life. Give your mind and heart over to God and see what he will say and do to you, for you, and through you.
Each of us has to find a way of “catching our breath” that works for us. When I lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area, one of the ways I had of stopping and catching my breath spiritually and emotionally was to get on a noisy screeching subway—more often than not packed with people—and go downtown where the sidewalks were so crowded that people spilled out into the streets. There was something about that kind of social interaction that brought rest to my soul. Many were the times when troubled and weary from the spiritual battles of the pastorate I would stop and catch my breath spiritually and emotionally in this way.
Whenever I tell this to people, usually they can hardly believe that such was really the case. Often, they respond by saying that going into a busy city is the last thing they would do to catch their breath spiritually and emotionally.
That is just the point. Each of us has to find what works for us. For you it might be a matter of working in the garden, or going for a walk. Maybe it’s a matter of sitting in the swing and staring into space. Maybe it helps to light a candle and make yourself a cup of tea, and sit for a while in silence. Maybe you need to take a break from the kids, or read a book. Maybe you need to find an empty church sanctuary where you can pour your heart out to the Lord.
My friend, however you do it, if you will stop along the way and catch your breath spiritually and emotionally and perhaps physically, then the Lord will renew your strength for the battles of life and faith. He will give you new perspective on the challenges staring you in the face. He will calm your nerves and restore spiritual equilibrium to your life.
How about stopping and catching your breath spiritually so that you will be better able to get on with the journey to which the Lord has called you? I urge you to avoid spiritual and emotional and physical disaster by stopping and catching your breath with God.
PRAYER
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you who were never too busy doing God’s will to stop and reflect on God’s will. So work in our hearts and minds that we too will stop and reflect on God’s will for our own lives. Forgive us for rushing headlong into disaster instead of stopping and catching our breath. This we ash in your name. Amen.
1 New Revised Standard version used here and throughout.
Although by this time in my life, I should not be surprised, nevertheless I am. I continue being surprised at what happens to us when, in the midst of the stress and strain of life, we stop long enough to catch our breath. Renewal comes. New perspective is gained. Equilibrium is restored.
This came home to me again recently on a day when I was deeply troubled. The day had started off not very well. Yet I had a class to meet. As I neared the end of the class session, I was convinced that it was time for me to stop the regular routines and catch my breath, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So, even though my day had been planned in one way, I decided that I had to have some time out. I informed our faculty secretary that I would be gone for the day. And this is what I did. A service of worship was being held not far away. I slipped into a back seat and did more observing than participating. I was too emotionally numb to do much else. I’m so glad the worship leader didn’t say what I have heard too many say: “Leave your burdens at the door and come in to worship the Lord.” I desperately needed to bring my burdens in and offer them up to the Lord. I needed to bring my worn-out, weary self into God’s presence. God, you see, wants us to be our real selves in his presence, not our pretend selves. He never wants us to play church. When we go to church, we ought always to take all our burdens, hurts, anxieties, frustrations with us so we can offer them up to the Lord and see what he will do with them. That’s what I did that day.
After the service, I got into my car and began driving. Since the weather was not pleasant for outdoor walking, I went to several big stores and walked the aisles. I wasn’t interested in buying anything; in fact, as I looked at the merchandise, I hardly knew what I was looking at. My mind was on other matters. I was simply in motion. In one store, I walked up and down every aisle.
After I grew weary doing that, I drove up and down the not-so-busy county roads, saying nothing to God except what my heart was crying out. I was reminded of Romans 8:26-27 that states that “the [Holy] Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”1 On that difficult day, I once again, as I had so many times before, experienced the Holy Spirit interceding on my behalf “with sighs too deep for words.”
In a little town in another part of the county, I went into a restaurant and had lunch alone. After some more driving, I went home where I spent more time in seclusion.
What a difference that time out made! While the issues that troubled me had not been resolved, something miraculous had happened, nevertheless. I had caught my breath for the journey of life and faith. I had gained enough equilibrium not to make hasty decisions. My spirit was renewed. I had a perspective on important matters.
My friend, we are not talking here about a quick fix for complicated matters in life. Instead, we are talking about catching one’s breath spiritually for the journey of life and faith.
JESUS GOING APART EVERY NIGHT
That’s what Jesus did. For example, during the final, painful days of his incarnational life, he was in continual tension with the religious authorities. He was teaching controversial things. He knew that there were those out to get him and that even within the circle of his disciples there was unrest. Linked with all of this unsettledness, Jesus realized that his was not simply another human life alongside all other human lives, but that he was playing a unique and history-changing role in the grand scheme of God’s plan to redeem the world. Therefore, it was especially important for him to make decisions that were in harmony with the eternal plans of God. It was crucial that he respond to people and to criticism and to circumstances in such a way that God’s good plan would be accomplished. Jesus, you see, was not a salvation machine on which God in heaven pushed the buttons and pulled the levers thereby doing his redeeming work. No, Jesus was a volitional person who made decisions, like us. He was not a holy robot, but a holy person. Being the holy person he was, he made all the right decisions—not because he was pre-programmed to make them, but because he loved God supremely in the midst of the give and take of real, historical life.
Part of Jesus’ approach for making right decisions is that he stopped to catch his breath spiritually in the midst of the stress and strain of his journey of life and faith. He wants us to do the same.
Notice what Jesus said to his disciples during his stressful, final days with them. Luke 21:34-36: “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch your unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
In this passage, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the tribulation that is to come at the end of the age. What is true of being prepared for that end-time occurrence is equally true for the trials and tribulations of life prior to the end-time. “Be on guard”; “Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape”—that’s important advice regardless of whether it is a matter of the end-time or in the meantime.
After giving this advice to his disciples, we read in the very next verse what Jesus did to put this into practice. Every day, after he finished teaching in the temple, he left the city and spent the night on the Mount of Olives.
This was Jesus’ way of staying on guard. During the day he was at work in Jerusalem; at night he went out to the Mount of Olives. He spent every night away from his primary responsibilities of teaching. Those nights on the Mount of Olives were times for him to catch his breath spiritually for the journey. That does not mean that they were play times, or fun times, or relaxing times. It means that they were times for withdrawing from the strain and stress of controversy. For Jesus, withdrawal, however, did not mean that when he went back into the fray, all of the problems would be resolved. Actually, they got worse: he was betrayed by Judas, disappointed by Peter, abused by religious leaders, crucified by Roman authorities. Most importantly, he had caught his breath for the final onslaught. He was spiritually ready for it. That didn’t mean that he wanted the onslaught; in fact, he very much disliked the prospects of it. We see this in Jesus’ prayer on the night before his crucifixion when in the Garden of Gethsemane he pled, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). Nevertheless, because Jesus had stopped to catch his breath spiritually, he was able to go ahead and pray: “yet, not my will but yours be done.”
IS IT TIME FOR YOU TO STOP FOR AWHILE?
My friend, are you rushing headlong into the trials and tribulations of life without any sense of the divine perspective on what your life is about? If so, that is the recipe for spiritual and emotional disaster. You need to stop and catch your breath. When you do so, don’t deny your anguish. Don’t pretend before God that everything is all right when he already knows it isn’t.
Take some time apart from the primary responsibilities of life. Give your mind and heart over to God and see what he will say and do to you, for you, and through you.
Each of us has to find a way of “catching our breath” that works for us. When I lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area, one of the ways I had of stopping and catching my breath spiritually and emotionally was to get on a noisy screeching subway—more often than not packed with people—and go downtown where the sidewalks were so crowded that people spilled out into the streets. There was something about that kind of social interaction that brought rest to my soul. Many were the times when troubled and weary from the spiritual battles of the pastorate I would stop and catch my breath spiritually and emotionally in this way.
Whenever I tell this to people, usually they can hardly believe that such was really the case. Often, they respond by saying that going into a busy city is the last thing they would do to catch their breath spiritually and emotionally.
That is just the point. Each of us has to find what works for us. For you it might be a matter of working in the garden, or going for a walk. Maybe it’s a matter of sitting in the swing and staring into space. Maybe it helps to light a candle and make yourself a cup of tea, and sit for a while in silence. Maybe you need to take a break from the kids, or read a book. Maybe you need to find an empty church sanctuary where you can pour your heart out to the Lord.
My friend, however you do it, if you will stop along the way and catch your breath spiritually and emotionally and perhaps physically, then the Lord will renew your strength for the battles of life and faith. He will give you new perspective on the challenges staring you in the face. He will calm your nerves and restore spiritual equilibrium to your life.
How about stopping and catching your breath spiritually so that you will be better able to get on with the journey to which the Lord has called you? I urge you to avoid spiritual and emotional and physical disaster by stopping and catching your breath with God.
PRAYER
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you who were never too busy doing God’s will to stop and reflect on God’s will. So work in our hearts and minds that we too will stop and reflect on God’s will for our own lives. Forgive us for rushing headlong into disaster instead of stopping and catching our breath. This we ash in your name. Amen.
1 New Revised Standard version used here and throughout.
Script 2585 (GWS)
July 14, 1996
SERIES: GETTING ON WITH LIFE
2. Stopping to Catch Your Breath
Scripture: Luke 21:34-37
July 14, 1996
SERIES: GETTING ON WITH LIFE
2. Stopping to Catch Your Breath
Scripture: Luke 21:34-37
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