You in Me

This past Sunday, we had a small group assignment to spend a day in solitude. A day completely cut off from the world. A day in which we set aside time to spend with God. Our group is reading a book by John Ortberg, and the topic last week was "An Unhurried Life: The Practice of Slowing." Hence, the day of solitude is meant to help you slow down and reflect.

The author points out that in our culture, hurry is a necessity. We are obsessed with going places. So much of our life is spent in route to somewhere else. For example, I wake up in the morning, get ready for work, and drive to work. Once I get there, I am waiting until it's time to go home. When I get home, I'm waiting until bedtime. And when I'm sleeping, I'm waiting to wake up. We are so pre-occupied with getting somewhere that we forget about the moment that we are living in. There is so much time wasted thinking about how to get the most out of the time that we have, rather than taking that time to live, and live for God.

This brings me to my next point: this life is too difficult to live on our own. We struggle everyday with circumstances that are beyond our control. Wouldn't it be easier if we just trusted God to work things out? As a simple illustration, let's say you forget to set your alarm, and accidentally wake up late. You rush around your house, trying to get ready, you jump in the car and you attempt to find the quickest route, the quickest lane, and the quickest car to be behind. Rather than worry about whether you are going to get to work on time, sit back, relax, and trust God to get you there safe and sound.

I don't want to give the impression that this method can only be used for everyday trials like getting to work. This method can and should be used for every aspect of our lives. Why do we try so hard to change things or to make our lives what we want them to be? Why do we let the world tell us what it thinks we should do with our lives and with our time? There is a verse in this song by Big Daddy Weave that says exactly the point I am trying to portray:

I tried 'til I cried to bring about some change

But in spite of all the work, my efforts were in vain.

I guess for this mess, I'm the one to blame

Cause when I'm trusting You God, my life's just not the same

I'm different now.

I'm in less of a hurry, I'm less likely to worry.

When in my heart, I receive thoughts of my eternal destiny.

I've given up frustration, trust You without hesitation.

But my mind just can't conceive, it must be the You in me.

So, friends, stop trying to hurry, stop trying to change circumstances on your own. It's not worth the struggle. These are just a few of the many things that I reflected on during my day of solitude. I recommend to you all now: take a day, turn off the TV, tell your friends and family that you need 6 uninterrupted hours, and let God talk to you too.