2016: Self-Denial #2
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” -Matthew 16:24
This devotion is designed to guide you through time with God in order to examine a specific category of self-denial. Reflect on the questions this category addresses. Examine Scripture to see what God has to teach on the topic and where he might lead you in transformative growth. Choose one or more exercises to practice this form of self-denial, and return at the end of the month to examine and reflect. Remember, the goal is not to give something up, but to grow in greater dependence and more deeply treasure your relationship with God.
WARMING UP
Before you begin, get in a comfortable position, relax your body, and spend a few moments in silence. If distractions interrupt your silence, turn each one over to God as they come, and return to silence before Him. Once you are ready, move to the exercise below.
THE TOPIC: Busyness
We are a ‘to do’ people as Americans. We thrive on success, accomplishment and busyness. Activity is integrated into our culture. We are defined by doing. We introduce ourselves by asking, “How do you do?” or “What do you do?” There is a temptation to accelerate doing more and more with a false notion that the busier we are, the more worth we have as individuals.
All of this urgency ‘to do’ has left us frazzled, fragmented, exhausted and often depressed. We lose sight of the reality that God created us to be. He made us in His image; it’s a reflection of His character, not His activity. Our identity is not defined by what we do-it’s shaped by who we are.
God instituted a weekly Sabbath and a Jubilee year for the Jews so that they would be required to slow down and simply be in His presence. What does that tell you about God’s priorities as they relate to busyness?
Ask the Spirit to help you take some honest, personal inventory right now. In what ways are you determining your personal worth based on the number of events on your calendar? How does being busy shape your image of who you are? What might busyness distract you from discovering about your true self?
SCRIPTURE EXAMINATION
1) Read the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. This familiar story illustrates how easily busyness deceives us into feeling worthy or important. Note that Martha is not doing anything particularly ‘wrong’ in being busy serving Jesus and her guests. Her priorities are simply out of whack, which results in stress, anxiety and distraction from her real purpose: worship. Jesus commended Mary in Lk. 10:42 for her focus on the “one thing” that mattered most-just being at His feet. Do you align more readily with Martha’s or Mary’s thinking? Determine whether or not you have a tendency to do first and worship later. What needs to be changed in your own system of priorities? Identify your personal areas of stress, anxiety and neglect of worship-what role does busyness play in creating those unhealthy attitudes?
2) Ps. 46:10 tells us to be still and know He is God, or as the Message paraphrases, “step out of the traffic.” What do you fear would happen if you deliberately set aside time to be still? What do those fears reveal about the value you place on busyness? How can you truly know who God is if you are always rushing from one thing to the next?
3) The Hebrew word for “rest” used in Ps. 37:7 is an onomatopoeia word that sounds like “shhhh” or the kind of hush you would whisper into a baby’s ear to quiet him from crying. Focus on that image right now. Imagine the Lord whispering “hush” into your ear; let your mind and heart and spirit be still. The “still” is not about lack of movement or activity; it is to cease striving, to gently resist the pulls that come from within and without that stir you into anxiety, chaos, panic or even anger. Think about His Spirit soothing you and calming you with quiet touches. Breathe more slowly. Simply be aware of God’s presence.
PRACTICE
Choose one or more of the following ideas to practice the denial of busyness throughout this month
-Instead of jumping right into activity every morning, begin each day of the month by either praying aloud/silently or writing out words on paper to praise God for who He is. Here are some thoughts to get you started if you need help: I praise you, Holy God***You were, are, and always will be***You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End***I exalt your name***You are the one and true and only God***You are gracious and merciful, Loving Father
-Sit quietly with the Lord in front of your calendar or a list of your regular activities. Ask God to speak to you about your schedule. Remove one activity a week throughout the month and see what happens. Record your findings in a journal.
-Replace one ‘busy activity’ or item on your to-do list with an extended time of stillness in a place conducive to quiet for you (a park, the beach, a museum bench, a chapel, etc); even if your time of purposeful inactivity is limited to only ten or fifteen minutes, it will remind you to offer your heart and mind to the Lord as a sanctuary of worship
-Say ‘no’ to an activity this month that is not absolutely necessary. (You may need to enlist a trusted Christian friend to help you evaluate which activity to decline) Honestly evaluate your criteria for every activity to which you typically say, ‘yes.’
RETURN FOR REFLECTION
At the end of the month, spend time reflecting on your practice of self-denial.
-What did you learn about your own motivations for keeping busy?
-What insights did you gain from moments of stillness?
-Did you find that some of your activities are not really that important? Or that they do not require you to accomplish them?
-How was your relationship with the Lord affected by an intentional effort to be quiet with Him before filling your day with to-do items?
-After intentionally denying a busy mindset, what have you determined to do differently in the future in regards to your schedule?