Present

Aug 21, 2021

“Never underestimate the importance of simply being physically present in the place God wants you. You may not be asked to perform some dramatic ministry, but simply being there is a ministry.”

- Warren Wiersbe

I am grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had to be in the room when Dallas Willard was interviewed by Pastor John Ortberg about his infamous words of wisdom to John and to all of us. “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Ortberg’s response was, “Great, what else?” To which Willard replied, “That’s it! Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life!” Only ONE thing.

Pastor Jared said business takes us away from the ONE thing and reveals a spiritual condition in which we:

Overestimate our ability to control lives.
Understand being aggressive but not submissive (hustling for worthiness).
Constantly think about the future, and are not present.

Which of these three make you shift uncomfortably in your seat? I have to admit that at times I’ve struggled with each one, but currently the third is where I find myself doing soul work. I am being intentional about eliminating the hurry and stopping to be present and in the moment with the person in front of me.

Jesus’ words to Martha in Luke 10:39-42 are a challenge to us all living in San Diego in the 21st century.

“And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations, and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but only one thing is necessary for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”

Sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to His Word. Two of my Strengthsfinders test results are Achiever and Strategic. I find myself thinking into the future, planning for the next ministry event, family activity, retirement, vacations or _____! It’s “good” to plan ahead, but the question I must ask is, if I first sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what His plans are for me, or do I give Him my list to “bless'' the plans I make? Ouch!

In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells the crowd not to worry about their lives. In verse 25, He says “Is not life more important than food and the body more than clothes?”

“But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

- Matthew 6:33-34

When I get too hurried and focused on the future, I find myself worrying about things that rarely materialize. Do you? How often do we find ourselves throwing up a prayer and asking God to “save me, rescue me, give me.” But when we seek first His Kingdom, our hurried pace of life begins to slow down and we find ourselves living in the present, not missing the plans he has for us in THIS moment!

Shauna Niequest, in her book Present Over Perfect says, “Oh, the quiet moments alone with God I sacrificed in order to cross a few things off the to-do list I worshiped. Now I know that the best thing I can offer to this world is not my force or energy, but a well-tended spirit, a wise and brave soul.”

Rather than rush to make our plans and ask God to bless them, let’s stop and tend to our spirits. “Be STILL and know that I am God” -Psalms 46:10 It’s in the stillness with the Father that the ruthless elimination of hurry takes place. Then we have space to be present and can truly love God and others.