Take Time To Breathe
We "wear" activity and busyness as a badge of honour.
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My world
is surrounded by individuals who are convinced that activity brings life and all
movement is forward. Truth is, not all movement or activity creates or sustains
life. "Moving on", "Moved on", "Cut off",
"Bridges burned" are all popular euphemism’s for having taken control
of one’s present status.
Take time to breathe.
The Shepherd psalm is one of my favourites. Its metaphors
deal with three fundamental factors.
1. We are entrusted to a shepherd that will lead us and care
for us
2. Safe provision and sustenance in the midst of anxiety are
assured.
3. There is a specific pathway that must be followed in order
to remain safe, sustained and secure.
Historically, (and still in many countries today), the
shepherd takes responsibility to lead his flock to places of refreshing and nourishment,
a midst a barren and dangerous environment. Sheep are created uniquely in that
their noses and mouth are submerged during drinking. Turbulent waters can drown
them quite easily; therefore the shepherd would often lay upstream from the
sheep, causing the waters to be held back, thus creating calm pools (he leads me
beside the still waters) for the sheep to drink.
Sheep that choose to run ahead of the shepherds and launch
into the waters will often drown or be carried away in their rush to be
refreshed and sustained.
It’s easy to obtain, but difficult to sustain.
We live in "The Now" world!
Waiting and patience
is now uncommon to western society. We hate queues, are often intolerant, and
demand our possessions now! After all, we are worth it? Why shouldn't we have
the best now? "Sign on the line and make it yours" the marketers tell
us.No deposit, instant finance, delayed payments!
Remember dial-up speeds? These days we moan and groan if we cant
download a file in 3 minutes!
We have imbibed an age of intolerance and character traits
such as patience, peace, kindness, forbearance, gentleness, self-control and
love are in short supply.
It concerns me that many can gain all, yet lose everything,
for what profit is there in having much but no peace in which to enjoy it.
One’s soul consists of mind, will and emotions. If one’s
mind is set on self-gain in order to sustain a ravenous will, then no true
peace will be found, at any cost.
Provision is a by-product of spiritual rest.
Many years ago, I was observing a greyhound dog speeding across
the fields and it was only when it stopped that I could see it only had three
legs. It was incomplete, yet had developed a process by which it could regain
its former activity. Many are like that greyhound! At full pace, things look
normal, when in reality they are not.
Often tragedies and events happen in life in order for us to
prioritise the present that in time will define ones future.
Activity is not life, although life can come out of
activity.
Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood
circulation and breathing, the two necessary criteria to sustain life. It
occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called
cardiac arrest. The term is sometimes used in resuscitation research.
It is possible therefore; that an individual can have no
outward signs of life and yet be alive! Show signs of life and yet be dead! The
human soul can show all the signs of actual life and yet its activities are
dead.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack
nothing.
 |
| Be led, be still, be refreshed. |
He makes me lie down in green
pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He leads me besides the still
waters
Taking time to breathe, means taking time for restoration!
Being restored is not a one off event it is a daily process. There is no
system, regime or event that can precipitate ones refreshing other than the
personal responsibility to:
1. Be led
2. Be still
3. Be refreshed
Restoration by definition: is to take something back to its
original state. It is not a repair or a re-fit, it is a complete stripping back
to the bare bones of what we were created to be. One cannot earn it, or be
active in order to facilitate it. It has nothing to do with self and everything
to do with the shepherd, who will lead us, feed us and restore us.
Presently, (like the three legged dog), many are at full
tilt searching for significance. Yet it’s not found in the whirl wind
experience, nor the lightening in the storm, but a still small voice that is
heard in this rest, from beside the streams of refreshing!
It's a lonely place
to be, as there is no fill-in music, no motivational speaker nor lighting or
ambiance, it is the bare bones of creation. The breath of life.
Slow down, prioritise your activities and Take Time To Breathe.
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