Yesterday morning I tried to check Jesus off my to-do list.
This happens in seasons of stress and busyness (are there any seasons of not-stress-and-busyness??). I check him off by giving Him a nod (Read: glance at a paragraph of a devotional or toss up a “bless so-and-so”). Check. Done. Moving on to important stuff.
The thing is, when I do that, it’s kind of like being in the “fun” house at the circus. Deadlines, people, circumstances become distorted like in those crazy mirrors – scarier than they really are. My perspective is skewed.
I feel the fear of failure.
I feel the pressure of performance, not the presence of Jesus.
I miss the sacred moments. I miss the small mercies to be thankful for.
But yesterday Jesus didn’t seem to want to remain as just a checkmark. He graciously kept showing up in my day, reminding me that He goes before me and behind me (Isaiah 52:12b).
He showed up in a song in the car, the kindness of my husband, a call from a friend, and seemed to keep impressing on me the need to stop my to-doing without Him and truly Sabbath and drink from the bottomless well of His goodness.
So I did. I stopped and got on my bike on a gorgeous Minnesota afternoon, devoid of snow for the first time in 18 months (it seems) and I drank it up.
As I rode around the lakes, I listened to a great message by Andy Stanley in a series called Follow. The title? Fearless.
And here’s the question Andy ends with: What would someone who is me do if I was absolutely confident that God was with me?
The thing is, if I check Jesus off my to-do list, I miss the with-God life. He remains a task to be finished and I don’t hear HIm whispering “Fear not. I am with you.” And that can make all the difference.
Can you relate? What affects your perspective and awareness of Jesus with you?
The Stanley message? It’s part three and you can watch or listen by clicking here.
