Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”
Our Bible verse for today: “But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands …”
1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “There’s a lot to be said for living a simple and quiet life.”
I have a poem hanging on the wall of my office called “The Double Life” by Don Blanding. It’s about man who is torn between his love for exploring and adventure, and his strong desire to simply stay at home safe and warm, quiet and peaceful. The poem reads in part,
“How very simple life would be if there were only two of me.
A restless me to drift and roam, a quiet me to stay at home;
A searching one to find his fill, of varied skies and newfound thrill;
While sane and homely things are done, by the domestic other one.”
I always smile when I read that because it describes me so well. Next week I will turn 63. I’ve been in the full-time workforce since I was 17 – most of it in work that included traveling to far off lands and exotic locations. As a Naval Officer I circled the globe. As a mission team leader I have led more than 25 mission teams to places like the Amazon Jungle – and I’ve loved it all.
The only problem is that I’ve had to leave home to do it. You see, I love being at home too. The poem goes on, “With candlelight and well-loved books, and treasured loot in dusty nooks; with puttering and garden things, and dreaming while a cricket sings; and all the while the restless one, insists on more exciting fun …”
And so for forty-five years I’ve struggled with finding a balance between living life to the fullest, and slowing down enough to actually savor and enjoy that life.
What does all of this have to do with our theme this month of having a fresh encounter with God? Just that it’s hard to hear God’s “still small voice” in the middle of constant movement and activity and noise. Leading a busy life filled with lots of good and meaningful activities like a career, family, hobbies, and friends is fine up to a point. But we have to also make sure there is plenty of uninterrupted quiet time when we can simply sit in the presence of God and just savor being with him.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 the Apostle Paul encourages us to consider the virtues of a simpler, slower, quiet life. As I’ve gotten older I find myself increasingly drawn away from the adventure and travel and the high pressure world of a demanding career, and more towards a quiet and simple life. Oh, I still enjoy a long motorcycle ride on a pretty summer day, and I’m looking forward to going back to Haiti in September on another mission trip, but these days more quiet time with God and new fresh encounters with Him sound pretty inviting too.
How about you, is your life filled to overflowing with constant activity? Are you allowing enough time to just relax and savor life? If you go to my website at www.JimMersereauBooks.com you can download a free article entitled “Room for the Singing of Angels”. You might find it helpful as you try to find the right balance in your own life.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 