Isn’t it true that often we are present but not really present? You know the scene. Husband and wife sitting together enjoying a quiet night at home. They are having a nice conversation yet one of them is actually far away, preoccupied with something else. Last week we sat near a couple at a restaurant who were both on their cell phones the entire time. They appeared to be present but not really present. We, or at least me, so often have things heavy on our hearts and minds that keep us from really being present in the moment. We are there but not there. Sadly, I am guilty of that more often than I would like to admit. My wife would be justified in asking me, “Where are you?”  

I believe if we are honest, the same can sometimes be said of our quiet times with God. I’ll make it personal. I sit down in my comfortable chair and open my Bible along with that day’s devotional materials. Or maybe instead of devotional time, it is simply a time of quietness and reflection. With so much clutter occupying space in my heart and mind, I am present (in that particular space) with God but not really present (undivided attention) with Him. I wonder if in those moments, He is asking me, “Where are you?”

In the opening pages of the Bible, in Genesis 3, we find the story of God asking that very question. Here is what we read in verses 8 and 9 – “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

Adam and the woman (she had not yet been named Eve) had just eaten the forbidden fruit, causing them to go into hiding. I just love the image of God “walking in the garden in the cool of the day;” literally, in the early evening as a breeze was blowing through the garden. To me, the apparent tone of this passage implies that this was a regular thing; the three of them intimately walking together every evening. But on this particular evening, they failed to show up, they failed to be present, causing God to ask, “Where are you?” I do not see this question as an angry God, but rather, Him being saddened by their absence as He walked through the cool garden, damp grasses under His feet, birds chirping, and a gentle breeze cooling His face.    

So, today, as He asked on that evening in the garden, is God asking you the same question – Where are you? Are you present but not really?   

Over the years we have learned a great deal about beach umbrellas. They need four things to do and be what they are intended for – keep you shaded from the hot sun and protected from the ultraviolet rays. First, the umbrella itself should be at least 6-1/2 feet in diameter to give you adequate space underneath it. Second, it needs a roof vent for stability; to keep the umbrella from turning inside out in gusty conditions. Third, the pole should be at least 1-1/4 inches in diameter and be made of sturdy aluminum. This will help it not to bend, again in those gusty winds. And lastly, you need a sand anchor that screws into the sand to keep your umbrella securely fastened in the ground.

If you’ve been to the beach you have likely seen an umbrella blowing across the sand; it was probably not secured by a sand anchor. And really one more thing is important – having an umbrella with bright and unique patterns to help you find yours in the midst of a sea of umbrellas on a hot summer day.

Not having a “beach-worthy” umbrella might be fine when the conditions are calm but when the winds begin to blow, usually that umbrella fails to do what it is intended to do if turns inside out or you are constantly chasing it down the beach.  An umbrella, whether the beach kind or the rain kind, are of little value if they fail to keep you shaded or dry.    

Having faith in Jesus that is not both wide to cover you and securely fastened to keep you safe – to keep you shaded from the hot sun and that does not blow over in a storm – is not really faith at all. That kind of faith is like having a beach umbrella with you but never taking it out of the bag, never putting it up to allow it to do what it was intended for.

Having a strong faith requires a day after day willingness to surrender your will to His, to spend time in His presence through prayer, Bible reading, and silence. It requires asking, as the apostles did in Luke 17:5 – “Increase our (my) faith!”

And having this strong faith, a spiritual fullness in Christ, is just what we read in Colossians 2:6-7 – “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” 

Is your faith beach-worthy or will it blow away at the first hint of breeze? Does your faith protect you from the harmful elements or does it just look pretty?

You are planning a cross country trip to California from your home in Pennsylvania. You and your family pack your bags, take the dog to the kennel, put a temporary stop on your mail and newspaper, and do all the things necessary to prepare for a three-week trip.

At the crack of dawn, everyone piles into your SUV and off you go. The plan is to travel the historic Lincoln Highway, which opened in 1913 as the first coast-to-coast road in the United States. This highway originates in Times Square and ends 3,389 miles later in San Francisco’s Lincoln Park. For the first seven hundred miles of your trip there is a sense of awe and excitement traveling on such a historic highway.

But, by the time you get near Chicago, the trip begins to become monotonous, so you decide to change it up and find more scenic routes, to make the remainder of the trip, in your words,  “more fun.” To add to the fun, you announce that instead of using the GPS and maps, for the remainder of the trip you will use an old fashioned compass and follow the “Go west, young man” advice popularized during America’s westward expansion in the 1800s. It is at his point that your family gives you “that look,” you know, the one when everyone but you thinks what is next is a bad idea.

Sounds foolish right? With all the navigational devices available, who in their right mind would drive across the country simply by “going west.” A compass is a valuable tool for navigation and orientation, but it probably is not the best tool for driving cross-country. Sure, eventually you will get to San Francisco by continually going west, but probably not in the most expedient and efficient way. You will likely encounter many unnecessary twists and turns.

Let’s be honest, we sometimes navigate our way through life that way as well – either by using the wrong navigational device or no device at all. At times we simply walk through life by “going west.” And by doing so, we make bad choices, we often never get where we want to go, and we encounter lots of roadblocks, wrong turns, and detours along the way.

Simply put, we often navigate through life foolishly, being guided by our own plans rather than by the will of God. Psalm 32:8 tells us that God desires to be our navigational device – “The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for life. I will advise you and watch over you’” (NLT).

The apostle Paul offers us this advice: “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

[When a verse begins with the word “then,” it is imperative to go back and read the entire passage in its context, so I encourage you to read the entire section, beginning in 4:17 and ending at 5:20.]

What Paul is saying is that a foolish person has no real strategy, no real travel plan, for life and that the foolish person misses opportunities to live under God’s direction in an evil world.

So, today I ask, are you simply following the “go west” plan or will you seek God’s plan for the remaining journey?

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ Says the LORD Almighty.” Zechariah 4:6.

Picture yourself rowing your boat in the rough seas, working extremely hard and not really getting any closer to shore, all the while right behind you sits an idle outboard motor just waiting to be used to power your boat back to shore. Sounds silly, right? But it is true, that is how we sometimes operate, under our own power and strength. We so often find ourselves working harder and harder, but not necessarily smarter. There is a saying that re-surfaces from time to time that goes like this – “It isn’t the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” 

The same can be said of the things we do for God. It can be said that God is often pleased with our path but sometimes disappointed in our approach. We find ourselves simply trying to push through the waves under our own power, often rowing into the wind, our muscles tiring, our energy drained from the endless exertion, and really getting no closer to the shoreline than when we started. I am sure that is true of me at certain times in my own ministry. But the work of ministry is from overflow not from overwork.

[As a side note, before you think only clergy (this group has many different names depending upon one’s faith tradition) do ministry, making this post irrelevant to you, let me say that by ministry I mean not just what that select group of people do, but rather, it is what every Christ-follower does in serving God. When you use your gifts, talents, and abilities to help other people, that’s called ministry – there is nothing fancy about it; it’s just helping others in God’s name. Don’t just take my word for it; here is what we read in 1 Peter 2:9 about those whom God uses – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”]

Scripture is clear that when we have Jesus we also have His power source, the Holy Spirit. (Read John 14:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 3:16.) That power is readily available, we just so often fail to tap into it! And as the verse at the beginning of this post tells us, we will accomplish bigger and better things when we rely first and foremost on the Holy Spirit, and let Him direct our path, rather than simply working harder and harder and harder.

So today, I encourage you to tap into the Holy Spirit’s power source and begin to be amazed at what you can accomplish when you work from His overflow rather than your overwork.

Our culture tells us the faster the better, and if fast is really better, then faster is even better. Well, unless you are a race car driver or a sprinter, fast is not always best. We all seem to sprint through life from one thing to another, oftentimes those things are good and noble, but in the midst of breakneck speed what we miss is the beauty of life.

This quote by Eddie Cantor sums up what I am trying to say – Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”

Who is Eddie Cantor you might ask? He was a singer, comedian, vaudeville star, actor, and radio and television personality. Eddie got his start in show biz with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City in 1917. Maybe as important, if not more important, Eddie was involved with The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, founded in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt, and that foundation’s main fundraising event was setting up booths at Christmas asking people to donate a dime to fight polio and other birth defects. From that, Eddie coined the term, The March of Dimes and in 1976 the organization adopted March of Dimes as its name.

If you are like most people, you try to juggle many balls at once and you run from one thing to another, collapse into bed at night, only to get up tomorrow and start all over. I am not saying all of life is intended to be spent sitting in a rocking chair on the porch or a beach chair at the ocean. What I am saying is look over all the things you do and ask yourself; “what things are most important things to me, and what stuff can I dump over the side of the boat.” Yes, there are times in your life when the pace is fast and you do fly around at high speed, often while juggling many balls, but even then, take time to enjoy the scenery as it whizzes by.

In addition to slowing down, in order to find real meaning and purpose in life, you really need to look no further than to God. We read this in Ecclesiastes 2:24 – “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.”

Ecclesiastes is sometimes hard to understand, and if taken out of context, this passage seems to be advocating a life of mere pleasure seeking. But it is not saying that at all. What it tells us is that only in God does life have real meaning and true pleasure. Without Him nothing satisfies, but with him we find satisfaction and enjoyment. Our God is a generous God, and we can enjoy His good provisions.    

So, today, look to God for meaning and purpose, and don’t buy into the world’s roadmap of “faster and faster.” That roadmap is nothing more than a hamster wheel that just goes round and round.

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling like you were in a wrestling match during the night? You laid in bed all night tossing and turning, worrying about the stuff of life. You wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed. We all face challenges in life, and whether it is financial, physical, relational, vocational, medical, or emotional, not one of us is exempt from the bumps and bruises in life. Sometimes those bumps and bruises only cause a minor sore spot, other times the broken bone is sticking out of your leg.

Many times, both in the little skin bruises and the major bone breaks, we find ourselves in stress overload, and in the darkness of night, those dark nights of your soul, the issues often seem worse. Have you ever felt like that? Or maybe you feel as if you simply cannot get away from your hurts and pains, or worries and fears, and there is no place to rest your weary and worn down body and soul. Usually sitting in a rocking chair on your porch while reading a good book and listening to the birds calms your spirit, but right now, not even that soothes your soul.

You are not alone in experiencing those dark nights of your soul. God strengthened Jesus in his “dark night” at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). He restored Elijah’s hope during his dark night of loneliness on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:1-18). And when Habakkuk wrestled with despair as he wondered why God seemingly was allowing the crimes of Judah to go unpunished, almost defiantly demanding an answer from God (Habakkuk 1:1–2:1), he receives assurance that God had a plan (vv. 2:2-3) on how He would deal with those who are unfaithful (vv. 2:4-20). Click here to read Habakkuk chapters 1-2.

In the first sixteen verses of chapter 3, as Habakkuk cries out for his dark night of the soul to end (1-3), God finally lays out His plan (4-16). And yet in the midst of Habakkuk’s continuing to wrestle with despair, the book ends with his expression of confidence in the Sovereign and Almighty God – “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (17-19).

First, let me say that I am in no way diminishing any struggles you might be facing, whether they be big or small. Now let me also say that we have a God who is both interested in your bumps and bruises AND who can also care for those bumps and bruises. In the secular world we often talk of people who have either responsibility but not authority or authority but no responsibility. Well, God has both!

So, I ask you – Are you stressed, worried or burdened? If that is you, then today, and every day, wherever you are, whatever you are facing, Jesus invites you to a place of rest. A place that is immeasurably better than that rocking chair on your porch. We find these comforting and inviting words in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He goes on in verse 29 to promise us that we will “find rest for our souls” when we come to Him. And this is not a one-time offer; it is an offer with no expiration date and one that allows you to use it over and over again. Jesus meets you in the dark nights of your soul!