Yesterday I saw this posted on a church sign,

"The shortest distance between two points is under construction."

Insightful and so true in my life right now.

I was looking back through some of my old writings today and I found this quote I had written down by C.S. Lewis. It says this:

"There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people have been dabbling in religion ("Man's search for God") suddenly draw back. Suppose that we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing he found us?"

Seeking God is our chief-end. We long to know Him, praise Him and experience Him. Yet isn't it funny that we are surprised when we actually do find Him. We are taken back by our overwhelming emotions when we experience Him though His Word, worship or fellowship. We seek, and seek, and exclaim at times in the quietness of our own soul, "I can't find Him…" and often at that that moment, by His Grace, He becomes unhidden and finds us.

When writing to the Galatians, Paul said, "Formerly you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back…" (4:9, emphasis mine)

Here Paul was even portraying that it is not us who has made the great accomplishment of discovering God, but it is by God's grace that we are now "Known by" the Lord and Mighty Creator. If we stop and ponder that for a moments, we will be filled with great humility and eternal perspective because we will recall what a miracle it is that He is even mindful of us.

Let's strive this week to find ourselves in the presence of God – found by Him. Allow time in your schedule to pray, read his Word – even take a walk outside – and just allow His presence to be felt in your life. The distractions of the day-to-day seem to serve as an antiseptic to our soul; we become numb to the brushes of God in our life. Instead we must seek Him will all we are, and enjoy being known by Him as He draws Himself close to us.

You won’t find this on a Christian t-shirt:

“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

This is one of those promises of scripture that I’d rather just read quickly past without much though or meditation.

"Certainly not ALL who desire will be persecuted,” I think to myself. “Really?, all!?”

When Paul penned this verse to Timothy (2 tim 3:12) he was letting him in on a fact that now Paul was experiencing first hand. Paul was most likely writing this from his prison cell and keenly aware of the persecution he faced merely because he desired to do God’s will.

But Persecution doesn’t always come in the form of prison cells. It can also come from disagreements between Christians, oppositions from outsiders, and affliction from our spiritual enemy.

If we desire to do the will of God, by living a godly life, it should be a well not fact that this will not come with complete ease. We will face trials of many kinds. But we must ‘Take joy” when facing these trials. 

I told my brother last week that I feel like everything in my life right now is “playing toward my weaknesses.” I’m being challenged to take action in areas of my life that are less developed and are hard for me to operate in. Nonetheless, I long to live a godly life, and as I walk in the will of God I have to remember that opposition is waiting for me around every corner. Things may be hard, but my Mighty Sustainer will guide, protect and provide as needed.

I know that I am not the only one that is going through hard things right now. I know that many of you are facing trials as well. As we seek the will of God, we are bound to be persecuted by our enemy. But stay focus. Stay broken. Stay strong.

This passage is a direct invitation. It is not inconspicuous or uninterruptable. His call is to come and take His yoke – one that is light and without burden.

In verse 25, Jesus gave thanks to His Father for revealing the “Hidden things” to the children and not to the “wise or understanding.” Such things were the principles and secrets of the Kingdom of God that required great humility to grasp, yet alone agree with. They were all the lessons He just previously taught to the stubborn people that would have been standing by (and to our reluctant hearts as we listen in). Jesus had just alluded to God’s sovereignty through the role of John the Baptist, and then called out the unrepentant city for their stuck-up attitudes before God. After doing so, He then thanks God the Father for not letting prideful and sin-satisfied people into the knowledge of the hidden things.

It should be our dread to ever be Christ’s prayer request that we would be banished as the outsiders who are unknowing. We should desire to be like Christ – or the children He refers to – so that we many be a part of the chosen ones who ‘God is pleased to share His will’ (vs. 28).

Is Christ making the point then that we should not strive to be wise and understanding, but just be childish in our thinking? No, not at all! It is clear in other parts of scripture that we are to ask for wisdom, and wisdom is supreme above all things (Prov. 4:7). Rather, Christ is giving a commanding invitation to be like children in our faith – believing with wild abandon. He doesn’t want us to be like the Pharisees who just tried to cover sin with knowledge and therefore lay in their own bed of hypocrisy. He longs for repentant and humble hearts to join Him in His yoke.

If we have an unhindered faith and deep-seated humility, we are then invited to join Christ in His way of salvation and work thereafter. We are to be girded with Him in the task of furthering His Kingdom. Those who take the yoke of Christ are not only revealed the ‘hidden things’ but are now part of sharing them with others, as Christ desires.

This calling is not burdensome. In fact, it is immediate relief for sin and the guilt that follows.  It is also something that is used for our teaching and correcting. It is not that we are leading Christ, or equal to Him in anyway. Rather, we are in the stalk with Him and He is directing our steps. What a beautiful invitation – “Learn from me.” Everything in us should be yearning with childlike desire, “Yes, Christ…teach me! Teach me!”

Even with the lessons being taught and the steps being commanded, we are relieved. His invitation ends with a promise – “you will find rest for your soul.” Our gentle and humble Savior will provide peace far deeper than flesh or nerves. He will literally comfort the deepest part of our being and we will find rest in His arms. Nowhere else you will ever find an invitation quite like this!