Promise:
Jesus promised that if sought, He will be found
Passage:
We often think of God as being above us. Surrounded by the heavens, superior to us in every way. This is all true. But imagining God as being at a higher elevation than us, even though he is spirit and not contained by space or altitude at all, has a unintended consequence. We think we must strive, strain, and fight gravity to get to God. What if instead God was waiting for us to relax into a relationship with him? What if seeking God with all of your heart to find him (as Jeremiah 29:3 promises) didn’t burn as many calories as think it does.
Like a child who decides not to climb and clamor up a playground slide to get to the top, but instead to loosen their grip and let gravity take her to the soft grass below, perhaps this is what God wants for us. Maybe all our striving is just creating more unease, fear, shame, and distance between us and our heavenly Father.
This doesn’t mean that one can simply do the “path of least resistance” and be undisciplined in their spiritual walk. Or that those prone to depression or despondency should just fall into those patterns without consideration. This is where discerning the will of God continues to be critical, but perhaps we can take Jesus at his word when in Matthew 11:28-30, he said:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Or when King David penned in Psalms 40:1-2
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
Practice:
Spend a few minutes in silence waiting patiently for God to join you and show you His insight and care.
Imagine yourself on a playground slide, climbing up the slide bed to get to the top. The surface is smooth and hard to hold on to. Perhaps it is even hot to the touch because of the summer sunshine. Your feet slip. You are grasping and reaching to attain your goal.
Now, imagine you are on the same slide, but that your starting point it now on the top platform. You haven’t earned your spot there, but was placed there in grace. You sit down or even lay back, as gravity pulls you to the bottom.
And finally, imagine yourself sliding down the slide, but stopping yourself with the soles of your shoes or with your hands on the slide edge. You fight gravity. You resist the pull of the slope and smooth surface which is beaconing your progress.
In your imagination, switch between the three scenarios and think about how each makes you feel in each case. Which is easiest or hardest and why?
Pause:
Consider how these ways to play on the playground are a metaphor for us seeking God. We can assume He is hard to find and that we must go find Him at great effort. We can assume get distracted by worries and doubts and impede his presence. We can use solitude and silence as disciplines of surrender to lean into His promises and provision. Write your reflections below.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________