My Happy Place

 

It is 3:32 in the morning as I begin writing this, and I have been thinking about something stirring in my heart.

We all know what a date night is. It is something couples do because they understand that relationships need time. They deliberately set aside other things to spend time together. It might be dinner, a walk, watching a film, or simply sitting together and talking. The activity is not really the point. The point is that they have made time for one another.

That got me thinking about my relationship with Jesus.

If He truly is the love of my life, why should I not be intentional about spending time with Him? Why should I not make time to sit at His feet and simply be with Him?

There is a difference between doing something because we know we should and doing it because we genuinely want to. I can read my Bible because it is part of my Christian routine. I can pray because I know I should. But what happens when I simply want to spend time with Jesus because I love Him?

Think back to when you first fell in love. Do you remember that feeling when their name appeared on your phone and you couldn't help but smile? For those of us from another generation, perhaps it was seeing their handwriting on a letter that had arrived by post. There was something about knowing you were going to hear from them or see them again that stirred something inside you. You looked forward to those moments because you wanted to be with the person who had captured your heart.

There were butterflies.

When was the last time tears of joy flooded your eye ducts because you were overwhelmed by the thought of the One who loves you more than anyone ever could? When was the last time you sat at the feet of Jesus and simply marvelled that He wanted you there?

Do we look forward to spending time with Him? Do we anticipate those moments when we can shut out the noise around us and simply be with Him? Do we enjoy His presence, or has spending time with Jesus become another thing on our Christian checklist?

That brings me to faith. Where does our faith live? Is it simply in our minds, where we agree that God's Word is true, or does it reach our hearts so that we trust Him enough to act?

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

Do we believe Him enough to knock? Do we long to knock because we believe there is Someone on the other side of the door?

This morning, when sleep vanished and eluded me, I realised I had an opportunity to spend time with Jesus. Rather than seeing being awake at 3:32 as an inconvenience, I could see it as an invitation to come and sit at the feet of my Saviour.

That thought took me back to Mary.

When Jesus came into their home, Martha was busy with everything that needed doing, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him. Martha was concerned about everything that needed her attention, but Mary chose to be where she wanted to be.

Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better part.

I think we can learn something from that. There will always be something to do. Another responsibility will always be waiting for us. If we wait until everything is finished before we make time for Jesus, we may never sit at His feet.

Perhaps being intentional simply means recognising that our relationship with Jesus matters enough to make time for Him. Just as a couple might protect an evening because their relationship matters to them, perhaps we need to protect time with Jesus because our relationship with Him matters to us. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Because He is the One we love.

This morning I was given one of those opportunities. Sleep had vanished, and instead of viewing those quiet hours as an inconvenience, I saw them as a chance to spend time with Jesus. It wasn't about the time on the clock, or about anyone else knowing what was happening. It was simply a chance to sit at the feet of my Saviour.

Perhaps we all have opportunities like that. Maybe it is not in the early hours of the morning. Maybe it is a few quiet minutes before the day begins, a lunch break, an evening when everything else is finally done, or simply a moment when we realise we have time. Do we recognise those moments for what they are? An opportunity to step away from the busyness of life and spend time with Jesus.

Perhaps being intentional is not about finding more time. Perhaps it is about recognising the time we already have and choosing to spend some of it with the One we love.

My happy place is sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Have you found your happy place?

Signing off

Tyrone

Scripture References: Matthew 6:1-6; Matthew 7:7; Luke 10:38-42.

ARE WE LOOKING FOR JESUS IN THE WRONG PLACES?

 

Part 16: Diligence on the Journey

"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Jesus could hardly have made it clearer. He did not promise His followers a life without hardship. He told them that in this world they would face tribulation. Yet He did not leave them with that warning alone. He also told them to be of good cheer, for He had overcome the world.

I think this is important as we continue Christian's journey in “Pilgrim's Progress.” He has reached the Cross, and his burden has been lifted, but Bunyan does not now place him on a road where everything becomes easy. The journey continues, and Christian must keep walking.

This is something we need to be careful about because there are promises made in the name of Christianity that Jesus never made. We can be told that following Christ will bring prosperity, comfort, success and an easier life. Yet Jesus told His disciples to expect tribulation. The promise is not that hardship will disappear. The promise is that Christ has overcome the world.

Bunyan seems to understand this as Christian continues along the road. He soon comes across three men asleep by the roadside. Their names are Simple, Sloth and Presumption.

Something is striking about this scene. Christian is moving forward while these three men have stopped. They are not far from the road. They lie beside it, close enough for Christian to see and speak to them, yet they are asleep.

Christian tries to wake them and warns them of the danger they are in. Their responses are revealing. Simple does not understand the danger. Sloth does not want to be disturbed. Presumption appears confident that everything will be alright.

Perhaps this is one reason I write. I have a heart for the lost sheep and the wayward pilgrim because I know something of what it means to be in that condition myself. I have needed someone to point me back to the Word of God, and I have come to understand that the Word must remain our ultimate authority. So, when I write, my desire is not simply to share my thoughts. It is to point to what God has said, because His Word is the authority by which we must examine ourselves.

Christian did not see these men and simply walk past them. He tried to wake them. Perhaps there is something for us in that. If we have been brought out of darkness, should we not have a concern for those who are still asleep?

Bunyan gives each of them a name, and I think there is something for us to consider in all three. We can become careless because we do not understand the danger around us. We can also become careless because we simply do not want to be bothered. We can become careless because we presume that everything will be alright regardless of how we live.

None of these attitudes will help us continue on the journey.

This is where diligence becomes important. Christian is not walking to earn the forgiveness he received at the Cross. His burden has already been lifted. He is walking because he has been called to continue on the way. Yet I know how easily I can slip back into the habit of trying to earn what has already been given to me. Even if it happens subconsciously, I tend to think that if I do enough, pray enough, read enough Scripture, or live well enough, I can somehow make myself more acceptable to God. But salvation is not something I can earn, and neither can I make the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ any more sufficient by my own efforts. Diligence is not about earning salvation. It is about faithfully continuing the journey because I have already been saved by grace.

And the road is not always easy; in fact, quite the opposite.

The Parable of the Sower comes to mind here. Jesus tells us about those who receive the Word with joy, but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, they stumble. The problem becomes evident when hardship comes.

That should prompt us to reflect on how we respond when following Christ costs us something. What happens when obedience brings difficulty rather than blessing? What happens when prayers seem unanswered, when people oppose us, or when doing what is right proves harder than we expected? At times like these, everyone seems to have an answer. Someone will tell us what we should do, what we should believe, or why things are happening. Sometimes the answer can even seem so obvious that we are tempted to accept it without returning to the Word of God. Yet this is precisely where diligence matters. When the road becomes difficult, we need to know where our authority rests. We must return to the Word and allow God to instruct us rather than letting the voices around us determine our direction.

Do we continue walking?

Peter tells us to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Scripture does not tell us to sleep by the roadside and assume everything will take care of itself. We are repeatedly called to watchfulness, yet I think we can easily underplay it, since much of the Christian battle takes place in the unseen. We can see the difficulties of everyday life, but we cannot see the spiritual forces at work behind them. That can make the warning seem less immediate than a danger we can see.

Yet Scripture does not treat the unseen as unreal. Paul tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

This is why we must anchor ourselves in the Word of God. We may not be able to see the spiritual battle around us, but God has not left us without instruction. His Word is our teacher, showing us what is true, warning us of danger, and teaching us how to walk. We do not need to speculate about the unseen or create our own understanding of it. We have the Word of God, and we must take what it tells us seriously.

Christian has come through the Cross. His burden has been removed, and he keeps moving. The Cross is not the end of his journey. It is where his burden is dealt with, but there is still a road ahead of him.

Perhaps this is what makes those three men lying beside the road so uncomfortable. They are close to the path, but they are not moving along it. Christian is.

It makes me wonder whether there are times when we can become comfortable with being near the things of God without actually continuing to follow Him. We can hear the Word, know the language, attend the meetings and be familiar with Christian things, yet still become spiritually asleep.

Bunyan puts Simple, Sloth and Presumption beside the road immediately after Christian has come to the Cross. I don't think that is accidental. Coming to Christ does not mean that we can stop being watchful. If anything, the journey ahead gives us even more reason to remain diligent.

Jesus has already told us what to expect. There will be tribulation, but He also tells us to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Our confidence, therefore, is not in the promise of an easy journey, but in the One who has already overcome everything that stands against us.

Signing off

Tyrone

Scripture References: John 16:33; Matthew 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 6:11-12; Proverbs 4:23.