I didn’t like it! I just got off a call with Chip, my business partner. He had offered me a “wee bit of a challenge” regarding my tendency of taking on too much. He was observing me working at a pace of trying to squeeze in more and more client appointments. If I was not careful I’d be making a mess. Busted!!
How easy it can be to lose perspective, to lose sight of what’s most important. The irony is that, in the moment, I think I am “doing OK” and yet unaware of the seduction of my own compulsion to go faster and to do more. I can become unaware of the impact of my hurry and increasing speed on my own well-being and that of those around me. How about you?
“Ruthlessly eliminate hurry!”
Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard reminds you and me that…
“Solitude well practiced will break the power of busyness, haste, isolation, and loneliness. You will see that the world is not on your shoulders after all. Your will find yourself, and God will find you in new ways. Silence also brings Sabbath to you. It completes solitude, for without it you cannot be alone. Far from being a mere absence, silence allows the reality of God to stand in the midst of your life. God does not ordinarily compete for our attention. In silence we come to attend.”
If we are to live well as disciples of Jesus, we are to pursue living as He lived. 1 Cor 11:1; including the discipline of solitude.
I suggest that N0-ONE lived a fuller, busier and yet UNHURRIED life than Christ. Think about the incessant demands of the individuals and crowds around Him. No-one has lived with the weight of a bigger mandate than He. And yet, He modelled a life that had a regular practice of solitude.
Reflect on these verses.
- “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35
- “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16
- “Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them.” Luke 6:12-13
- “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…” Luke 11:1-2
- “When Jesus heard what had happened [that John the Baptist was beheaded], he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.” Matt 14:13
- “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15
I see this discipline of solitude as one of the most challenging in my life and the lives of the business owners and leaders we serve. I firmly believe that we must engage in this battle for our soul’s wellness – our capacity to be still and enjoy the reality of God in us and through us.
Chip reminded me to “be still” this morning. So, if I may, let me remind you to be still and “re-KNOW” that God is your God. Psalm 46:10
Are you willing to pause and invite Jesus to stand with you right in the middle of the circumstances you are facing?
He is waiting!
A Maverick Application:
- Evaluate your pace? Is it one that is busy and yet unhurried?
- When is that last time you had a solid time alone with God – a time where you felt Him refresh your sense of wonder; a sense of awe in Him and what He is doing in you and around you?
- Who can you share this with?
