Hey, you busy….?

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ 1st words to His new disciples were, “Come, follow me!” Now, before they could follow Him, they had to first “Come” to Him.

Nothing can take the place of the things you will learn and the changes that take place in you while you’re in His presence. Aligning yourself and setting your mind to spend time with the one who made you and knows you best is life altering- in the best of ways! You don’t even have to say anything. You just have to “Be.”

So why is this so hard for us to do?

I believe there are many reasons, distraction being one of the main ones. I once heard a Pastor say, “If the devil can’t make you sin, he will make you busy!” Ouch….However I believe another major factor is because we wanna work! We want to DO instead of just BE. We are human BEINGS not human DOINGS.

We ask, “Lord, give me a task!” We need to feel useful.  And truth be told, it is easier to use our hands than to submit our hearts!!

Every time we get too close, He starts messing with un dealt with stuff. And its messy and it hurts, so we keep it moving. (Aint nobody got time for that, Jesus)

We may never say it out loud, but in our hearts we know! We keep doing all the right things outwardly, but never truly giving Jesus full access to our hearts and lives; Which is really the only thing He wants from us anyway. If you recognize this behavior in yourself, no stress, no shame. You are not alone. Welcome to being human!

As a matter of fact, just the other day, as I was finishing up my morning devotion time, I felt the need to linger. To stay in it just a little bit longer. Im embarrassed to say, I immediately looked at the clock, because I had somewhere to be, and I contemplated if I had enough time. (That’s a lot of power to give a clock) Thankfully, I chose to stay. Ive been around long enough to know that if the Spirit is nudging, nothing else that you have to do would be time better spent.

My mind had been extra busy that day and my thoughts full of to-do’s, so even though I was still doing my “spiritual duties” I wasn’t connecting totally and with my full self. My attention was divided.

But,

I said, “ok Lord , here I am…..tell me, teach me, show me!”(refer back to the statement above, “give me something to do”)

Suddenly, I heard in my spirit, “Can you just sit with me for a minute and let me love you?”

I pictured Him asking me in the same way I grab a grandbaby as they’re busily running by……”Hey, stop for a sec” i’ll tell them. “Let me look at you for a minute and kiss your face before you run back outside to play.” I interrupt them for no other reason other than I love them!

As tears streamed down my face, I instantly thought of the scripture in Psalms 8:4(a) - What is man that you are mindful of him…

I also began to sing a line from one of my favorite songs…

(Elevation worship featuring Chandler Moore) “Who am I that you keep me on your mind God I’m just grateful for you!” If you’re not familiar, look it up!

No matter how many times it happens, I am never not blown away when God comes close. I am never not awed and amazed that He would desire just to be with us.

“Come!” His invitation to His disciples. And He is still extending that same invite to us today. “Lets hang out!”

Ignore all of your “too”excuses……too busy, too dirty, too much baggage, too hurt, too confused. Load it up, bring it all, and just simply linger for a minute with Him. I can guarantee you this….No one has ever reached the end of their life and wished they had loved Jesus less.

Psalms 16:11 -  In your presence is fullness of Joy

Jeremiah 29:13 - You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with your whole heart.

James 4:8 - Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you

Matthew 28:20(b) I am with you always, even to the end of the age

Hebrews 13:5(b) I will never leave you nor forsake you