Burdened

Today I woke up burdened. My heart was heavy, my mind was troubled and my spirit grieved. I cannot readily attribute my sentiment to any particular cause or situation. At first I thought I had "the blues" but what I felt was more spiritually profound than merely "feeling low." It wasn't melancholy or any emotive state that could be easily explained by some natural occurrence or impending event. What I felt was a very deep spiritual stirring that evoked emotions I wasn't sure how to express, but that I knew needed to be released. As I sat puzzled by my state of mind, I reflected on a verse that provides a strong spiritual principle too often overlooked or by-passed by "Book of James," action oriented Christians like me. What verse? Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God." After I had taken the time to just sit, be still and listen, I understood the burden that God had placed on my heart. It was really a very simple, straight-forward impulse that tugged at my very soul - "Talk to Me." Luz and I pray daily as individuals and we also pray together every morning for a multitude of requests and for the variety of unknown circumstances we know we'll face on any given day. What I felt the Lord communicating to me in the quiet stillness of just waiting and contemplating was something even deeper. He wanted me to truly "unload" on Him so that He could truly minister comfort, direction, peace and guidance to me. In other words, He didn't just want me to execute the daily discipline of prayer - a good thing - He truly desired for me to communicate to Him from the depths of my heat with tears, laughter, anger, pain and joy - in spirit and in truth - the BEST thing. Jesus said,

...a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth(John 4:23-25.

It is important to note that the beginning of the Psalm 46 passage I quoted earlier says,

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

We may fail to recognize this, if we don't take the time to be still and listen to Him so that we can meaningfully commune with Him not just from our lips, but from our hearts.

So let me challenge you. Make the time and take the time to slow down, sit still and let God speak to you in a way that opens your heart to freely and honestly communicate with Him so that the cloudy burdens you have can be transformed into shining rays of sunlight and God's joy that you can share with others. This transformation will result in God's glory, their blessing and your own fulfillment and satisfaction as you learn and carry out the will of God in your life. Stop fretting, worrying and scheming, rather be still and know that the Lord is God! Until next time...
Sam.