In the early history of the Israelite people, they escaped
slavery in Egypt and began a 40 year journey across the desert to a home of
their own. In the midst of that journey God invited Moses up to the top of a
mountain so that He could give him instructions for the Israelite people on how
to live life. The instructions about the mountain encounter that God gave Moses
seem odd at first. “Come up to me into the mount, and be there…” (Exodus
24:12). The phrase translated “be there” comes from a Hebrew word that’s
related to breathing and means “to exist”. The only requirement for Moses as he
spent time with God was to exist, to breathe in and breathe out.
Most of us keep up a pretty hectic pace in our life. There’s
a job to be done, games to attend, dinners to fix, repairs to be made, rooms to
be cleaned, classes to be attended, books to be read, art to be embraced,
appointments to be kept, forms to fill out , and that’s just this morning. Our
lives can be filled with so many good things that there isn’t room for
relationship with God or anyone else. Our striving and running and
accomplishing keep us from being close to God. There are times in life when we
need to simply exist, just breathe in, breathe out, and listen. The God who
created stars and sunsets, eagles and earthworms, breezes and bluegrass music,
most likely doesn’t need our amazing multitasking abilities. He simply wants our
presence and our attention. Stripping away the clutter and chaos of life from
time to time isn’t easy, but it’s life giving. It makes us able to do what we
were created for, the enjoy knowing and being known by God.
No comments:
Post a Comment