It's seems to be a universal rule that the longer we let things pile up, the greater the work of cleaning.
If we go a long time without doing laundry and only throw it in the washer when we absolutely have to, it will take hours to get everything clean. But if we do a little bit at a time it’s much easier.
Tidying up in small doses saves you from the larger hassle of cleaning the whole thing once it's a mess.
I'm finding this to be equally true with my soul
The more I let things pile up in my mind, the harder it is to clean it all out to be with God.
If I haven't read Scripture in awhile, worshiped in awhile, or sat in silence for awhile, it is much more difficult when I get around to doing it.
When I finally get to Scripture, I don't know where to start. It's such a big book!
When I finally sit down to pray, my mind is racing with all the things I've let occupy my headspace instead of God. I want to sit in silence but my mental real estate is occupied by my goals for the day, meetings ahead, and that comment someone made last week that still bugs me. Also dinner....what's for dinner tonight!?
It turns out my soul and the pile of laundry next to me have a lot in common.
The longer either one is neglected, the harder the work ahead.
Look for the little moments
So much of our conversations around living our faith only speak of the big moments such as our Sunday gatherings where we worship, hear a sermon, baptize, and take communion. And this is good. These gatherings are gifts to us from our Father. We wouldn’t get far without them.
But what’s often missing is conversation about what comes the rest of the week. How do we walk with Jesus as we rush to meetings, prepare for uncomfortable conversations, and eat a sandwich?
I think the answer is simple. We look for the little moments.
Little moments that stem from the big moments of gathering in worship on Sunday.
Little moments to pause.
To take a deep breathe and be.
To remind ourselves we’re more than what we do.
To reorient our souls to the reality of God’s nearness.
To praise God for what’s going well and ask for strength for what’s ahead.
When we do this, we’ll be surprised to find that we aren’t finding Christ in the little moments. We’ll find ourselves already found in him.
One Book I’m Reading: Emotionally Healthy Discipleship
Discipleship isn’t solely about learning more about Jesus. It’s also about growing to be a more loving, self-aware, and emotionally healthy human.
In other words, what we need isn’t shallow transformation but deep discipleship.
One Thing I Love: This Sermon 👇
That’s it for this week’s CrossTalk. If you found it encouraging would you forward it on to a friend?