Empty Space
I love the church. They will always be my tribe and my community, but since the world changed in 2020, I've been away from organized church. I thought it would be temporary, but I don't feel like the Lord has released me to go back yet. Maybe some of you can't comprehend a time in which the Lord would direct someone to not go to church. It's OK, you'll be alright. This experience has given me some new perspectives. Empty space can be hard to endure. Nature abhors a vacuum. We instinctively want to fill empty space with what we know and what makes us comfortable. But sometimes we need take a deep breath and see how the Holy Spirit has create that space for a reason. There are some things we can only learn in an empty, quiet space. Learn to delay your own instincts and quite other voices to hear what the Holy Spirit desires. Learn to wait on the Lord in all things. In the Old Testament we see a pattern evident in David's life. He had a habit of seeking the Lord, of asking before acting. This should be our pattern as well.
Our life gets defined and scripted by the actions we take and the things we do. Even when those actions are right and good, we can become incapable of seeing anything beyond those definitive boundaries. Stop once in a while and be still, look up, listen, breath and recenter yourself on a desire to know Jesus above all else. Do whatever it takes to fix your eyes on him and re-focus your whole being on knowing him. You may step into that place and find the space is empty, unfamiliar and scary. It's OK, Jesus will meet you there and begin to remake you and renew you day by day. The journey is difficult, uncertain, hopeful, joyous, and worth every moment.