It’s been another one of those busy days. I am finding it difficult to regulate my schedule in such a way as to have margin in my life. I thought I would be in town all week but it turns out that I will be traveling several days after all. And you know what? I enjoy that – especially the destination for this week. But I have found that I really don’t have enough time to do even the simpler things in life that allow me to recover from the daily grind.
By the time that I got done this evening, it was after 8:00 pm – in fact almost 8:20 and I have already had to stop writing this post for a few minutes to take another business call. And it’s almost 10:00 pm. But after dinner, Janet made a suggestion that I go outside and relax by throwing a line in the lake behind our home. Somehow, no matter how difficult the day has been, this nightly ritual takes the edge off.
And tonight there was a bonus – in the ten or so minutes I was out, I caught a rather large bass. What a treat it was to play the fish and eventually release it back into the water. During that time, nothing else mattered – all was right with the world – if only for ten or fifteen minutes. But that brief period of time – lost in my own thoughts and watching the evening sky in all its glorious color – I couldn’t help but be rejuvenated.
That’s the way it is with prayer, or even thinking about God. There is some cathartic healing effect when you spend a little time focused on the Creator of heaven and earth. And let’s face it – the time doesn’t have to be some deep theological introspection. It’s more like spending time with a good friend – even if that friend is the Lord of the universe. And whether you petition God through some formal process or just shoot up little arrow prayers, it doesn’t make any difference. The fact is that communion with God will take your mind off all the other stuff in your life and you will feel renewed after your time together.
The verse for this evening comes from the Psalms and highlights the joy of being lost in a relationship with God. We are told by the psalmist, in Psalm 16:11, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” My encouragement this evening is that God yearns for you to spend time with Him and you have an open invitation to accept His offer any time of the day or night. My prayer is that you will carve out time in your life to have communion with God. The benefits are great and you just won’t believe how good you feel afterward. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…