I remember being mocked the first time I went on a personal spiritual retreat. Everyone thought it was hilarious that I brought what looked like my entire library. I was “the bag lady” from then on. I had a wonderfully glorious day despite all of the teasing! Thirty years later, I’m still the bag lady. I never know what I’m going to feel like doing during my retreat, so I bring it all.
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It's really easy to get buried in too much work, only to have one more thing come up that we must do. Of course we say, "Yes," and before long we are living overwhelmed. I've been quite surprised that even during retirement when I'm not reporting to a boss, I still find myself running ragged. It seems that no matter what stage of life we are in, the only way to have some time to rest is to schedule it.
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We often live as if heaven were far away, lost somewhere beyond the clouds. Yet, we affirm that Jesus said he would never leave us and we know the Holy Spirit lives within us. If the Presence of God brings heaven to us, if as Paul told the Athenians “we live and move and have our being in Him,” we don’t want to miss Him, living as if there is a distance.
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How can we make progress in our struggle against sin?
We are "fearfully and wonderfully made," yet we find in ourselves an incredible bent toward selfishness and overconfidence in our own abilities. Earlier generations expressed this truth by saying that we are “crooked timber.”
Is there anything that we can do?
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I’ve been surprised to notice how often the Puritans prayed that they could enjoy TODAY one of the blessings we are promised in heaven. For example:
"Let there be unrestrained fellowship with Jesus, today.”
“In heaven we will hear the Divine Accolade, may we hear today, “Well done”.
“In heaven, we will breathe joy. May we be filled with joy as we receive the gifts You give.”
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I remember feeling so disconnected from the Lord. I was actively involved in ministry but feeling totally out of it. I had no idea what I needed, but I knew that I needed something.
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“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31b, NIV).
When the Lord called His disciples to come away with Him to a quiet place to get some rest, He wasn’t inviting them to take a nap or cease from activity!
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