Downshift

This past week we did our third annual Good Friday Worship Walk. For those not familiar, it is made up of eight interactive stations that walk us through the last week of the life of Christ. Each station has a description followed by three sections: Read (various related scripture passages), Reflect (a thought to meditate on and pray through), and Relate (instructions to physically interact with an object in the room as a manifestation of that event). At the core of this event is one primary purpose, and that is a chance to be still before our God and Savior and take time in the quiet to seriously ponder the sacrifice of our Lord.


As I watch the myriads of people begin their journey at the "Walk" there is one thing that tends to stick out to me more than anything else, and unfortunately it falls on the negative side. So many who come through just....can't....slow....down. It's like their internal transmissions are stuck in third, fourth, or at worse fifth gear.

They don't know how to downshift.

They start the worshp walk in high gear and they never let off the gas. It's as if getting through the eight stations is just another thing they need to check off their daily "To Do" list, another task to conquer, rather than being a place where they can have an intimate - and perhaps life-changing - encounter with God and with Jesus Christ.

Now please understand, I am just as guilty of this tendency as anybody. I also fall into the trap of roaring through the paces of my life without ever taking time to notice what is actually taking place around me. I forget to look closely at the people I am working with and what they might be going through; to see the beauty of the sun in the bright blue sky; to see what God might be trying to teach me in the everyday tasks of life.

I'm a firm believer that we have a God who desperately wants to communicate with us. He has things He wants to show us about our friends, our families, our jobs, and most importantly the inner places of our own souls. But too many of us refuse to stop what we're doing long enough to listen for His voice. And this listening is often done most effectively in quiet and in solitude. I do not think God is one to force Himself upon us in order to make His voice be heard (unless your name is Saul of Tarsus, in which case I really need to talk with you). Being creatures of free will, we can choose to allow the busyness of our lives to crowd Him out just like we might with any other person in our lives. This is to our detriment, but we can do it.

But listen we must, because if we don't we may never truly grow into the disciples He has called us to be. If we don't take time to search the deep recesses of our hearts and listen to what God is trying to speak into that place, we may miss some important stuff. We may miss some things in our lives that desperately need changing; we may miss some direction in our lives that the Spirit really wants us to take.

I read an author recently who basically said that perhaps many of us purposely fill our lives with busyness because we are subconsciously avoiding spending time in solitude with God. The reason? We are afraid. We are afraid of what we will find within our own souls if we take time to listen. We know that if we allow ourselves time to listen for God's voice, and I mean really listen, He will reveal things to us that we do not want to deal with because it will be hard work.

But we need not be afraid. We have a merciful God who wants nothing but the best for us. He wants to see us transformed more and more into the image of His son Jesus Christ. If there is anything there in the deep places of our souls that He needs to reveal to us, it is only for our own benefit. It is only to save us from some pain down the road. It is only because He loves us.

So go ahead. Downshift. Allow the engine to go into idle. And listen. We need it.