Time with Jesus is BETTER

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Graeme Wilson in Victory Call

Are we honoring Him, who is our peace and our rest, with our all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

Some of us (most of us) do that very well with our busy beaver, busy as bees “doing.”  And praise the Lord the “doing” is a good thing.  There is no condemnation in it -not even a little bit.
My sincere heart question is, “Are we honoring Him with our ‘being’ as well as we are with our ‘doing’?”

My co-worker and I were recently talking about the tradition and practice some countries have called siesta.  This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation and it won’t likely be the last.  We can’t help it. Partly because we are both busy most of the time and think it would simply be neat to pause in the middle of our day for some R&R. The other part of it is—we really do need to pause, and since we don’t, our souls do the longing for us and we are left with talking about it.

Just for fun I did an internet search and here is what I learned:
Siesta is a Spanish word and is defined as “a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal.  Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in hot countries.  The word is from a Latin word meaning “the sixth hour” (counting from dawn, therefore noon, hence “midday rest”). The original concept of a siesta was merely that of a midday break.  This break was intended to allow people time to be spent with their friends and family.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m jealous for this “siesta time” in my own life.  More and more I am longing to be with Jesus, just resting at His feet and being still.

Dear sisters, just in case you didn’t know, being still is not a dirty word and I can’t put it any better than Jesus did when He mildly rebuked Martha in Luke 10:41-42.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.   Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The Lord Jesus said as plain as day, “Mary has chosen what is better.”

My encouragement and my challenge for all of us today: begin to think about the pattern of our lives.  Are we so busy doing that being, simply being alone with Him—our Lord and Savior– is a foreign concept?  For a long time now I have wanted “more.”  Well, now I want “better”.  And not “my better”, but what Jesus calls “better.”

How about you?

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.