Do you ever notice that we are often so busy working \u201cIn it\u201d that we don\u2019t work on it? \u00a0We are so busy running our department and keeping our jobs and heads above water, we don\u2019t have or make the time to step back, slow down and work on it. The tyranny of the urgent keeps us from stopping long enough to look around and see where we are going.<\/p>\n
Ever noticed how many relational conflicts occur because we are so busy juggling, balancing, and keeping things from falling that we don\u2019t see where we are going. \u00a0\u00a0We are so busy working \u201cin our relationships\u201d that we don\u2019t work \u201con\u201d our relationships.<\/p>\n
Steven Covey notes that in life, we are so busy chopping wood, we can\u2019t and don\u2019t take time to stop, slow down, and sharpen the axe.<\/p>\n
We Are So Busy Working In It, We Don\u2019t Work On It.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n We Are So Busy Living In It, We Don\u2019t Reflect On It.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at: I.\u00a0 Why We Need to Reflect On It<\/strong><\/p>\n Today\u2019s challenge is about REST, SILENCE, and SOLITUDE. \u00a0\u00a0In short, this is the discipline of Slowing.\u00a0 The discipline of pulling yourself away from the hustle and bustle of life\u2019s demands to refuel, reflect, and \u201cwork on it.\u201d<\/p>\n I grew up in Illinois, the land of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was known as a slow reader. He often spoke of how slowly he absorbed information. \u00a0He — as an adult — read out loud and laboriously.\u00a0 His law partner and biographer William Herndon said, \u201cLincoln read less and thought more than any man in his sphere in America.” \u00a0 Lincoln reflected on it. Lincoln took the time to work on it.<\/p>\n Lewis Grant has a little test for us to see if we need some new habits. In writing on what he calls Sunset Fatigue, he notes that we may be in Sunset Fatigue if: 1) You find yourself rushing when there is no reason to;\u00a0 2) There is underlying tension that causes sharp words and sibling quarrels; 3) You set up mock races (OK kids, let\u2019s see who can get to bed quicker); 4) You sense a loss of gratitude and wonder;\u00a0 5) You indulge in self-destructive behaviors (alcohol, pornography, too much TV, etc.).<\/p>\n We all love to run hard. I love the feeling of getting lots of stuff done. I like getting more done than others thought possible. I love efficiency. I love productivity. \u00a0I love working IN it. \u00a0I learned years ago that I do my best work, if I make myself work on it. \u00a0My messages are the best when I think about them for 6-9 weeks before I deliver them. \u00a0\u00a0I usually take a week several times a year to not work on THIS WEEK\u2019s message which is \u201cbreathing down my neck\u201d but to WORK ON IT, and think about the messages for the next 6 months, or the next year\u2019s strategic plans. \u00a0I never \u201cfeel\u201d like slowing down. I never have \u201cextra\u201d time in my schedule.\u00a0 But every time I slow down to reflect, pull away and get some solitude to work on it…my mind clears, my soul opens up, and my creative energies fire up.\u00a0 My working in it is better when I work on it. \u00a0\u00a0The challenge today is about God, our heavenly Father, saying SLOW DOWN.\u00a0 Put some margin in your life.\u00a0 Put some silence and reflection and rest in your life. \u00a0SLOW DOWN and work on it.<\/p>\n My son Quinn loves to run. He is two and has only one speed, fast. Because he is partially blind, he can\u2019t see well beyond 3 feet. \u00a0\u00a0One day, he and I were out on the terrace, and he started running. \u00a0As he took off, he headed toward the steps. \u00a0\u00a0His eyesight didn\u2019t allow him to see the 6 inch drop from one step to the next. I started yelling, \u201cQuinn, slow down. Stop!\u201d \u00a0He ran faster assuming I was trying to stop his fun and take away the joy of the run. \u00a0I tried to catch him, but he was too far ahead of me. \u00a0He took that \u201cstep into mid air\u201d and landed face first sliding his face along the concrete…. OUCH!\u00a0 I scooped him up as he cried. \u00a0He thought my call to slow down was going to hurt the fun but it was actually going to help him from experiencing pain.<\/p>\n II. Why Jesus Needed To Reflect On It.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you ever read the Bible, you’ll discover a high performance, highly productive, world changing leader in Jesus Christ. He implemented a strategic plan over three years that lasted for over 2,000 years. \u00a0\u00a0Wherever Jesus went, there were to-do lists, there were crowds, and there were demands. Jesus was working \u201cin it\u201d all the time. \u00a0\u00a0Let me take a moment to give you a snapshot of a particularly difficult day where Jesus was working in it.<\/p>\n A) Jesus is working in it Emotionally<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Jesus gets terrible news this day. His cousin John, a friend and ministry partner, had been brutally killed and beheaded by the tyrant King Herod.<\/p>\n 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison… 30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus is crushed. We can only imagine this conversation between the apostles and Jesus delivering the terrible news. As Jesus is taking in the pain and difficulty, he is surrounded with the crowd demanding his attention.\u00a0 But Jesus knows that his soul needs some solitude, some silence, some rest.\u00a0 So he turns to the disciples and says, \u201cLet\u2019s get away and work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.\u201d For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n This passage sounds like us today. Many were \u201ccoming and going\u201d and were so busy they did not \u201ceven have time to eat.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s us, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 We are so busy working in it, we neglect our health, our soul, and our need to reflect. \u00a0Jesus comes to us and says, \u201cCome aside…let\u2019s get away to a deserted place.\u201d \u00a0We need to reflect on the pain in our soul. Reflect on the injustice we\u2019ve just witnessed. We need to refuel before launching into another season of giving. \u00a0Jesus calls you and I to come \u201cwork on it\u201d by getting away from \u201cworking in it.\u201d Just as Jesus gets to a place to reflect, get away, and have some silence…<\/p>\n 2) Jesus is \u201cworking in it\u201d Relationally<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled.<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus gets to a place to have some solitude and immediately, the crowd has outrun him to the other side of the sea.\u00a0 They are needy. They are hungry. They want him to teach, to heal, and to feed them. \u00a0\u00a0In other words, Jesus is surrounded with people. He is \u201cworking in it\u201d relationally. \u00a0All of us have relational demands. Our boss. Our co-workers. Our teenagers. Our friends. \u00a0Our parents. Our supplies. Our clients. \u00a0\u00a0Some need us to \u201cheal them.\u201d\u00a0 Some need us to \u201cteach them.\u201d \u00a0Others want us to \u201cfeed them.\u201d \u00a0And it\u2019s a real joy… until it isn\u2019t. \u00a0There comes a time when we begin to resent the people we are helping, don\u2019t we? \u00a0\u00a0We are so busy working in it relationally, we begin to resent the very people we are helping. \u00a0Notice again that Jesus realizes that he must pull away…so, he \u201cimmediately…does what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n1)\u00a0 Why We Need to Reflect On It;
\n2) \u00a0Why Jesus Needed to Reflect On It; and
\n3)\u00a0 How We Can Reflect On It.<\/p>\n