Ever seen this sign? I imagine you have. If you powered up a PC, a notebook, or a smart phone and are reading this blog, it is more than probable that you have this sign, this button right there on your device. Now it may not look exactly the same — especially if your device is a bit dated. I know this all too well. The desktop I use in my home office was purchased in 2002. For what I need to do and utilize it for, however, it is more than enough. Back to the point and what I’m alluding to: Just as every PC, desktop, smart phone, and TV has a “power off” button and function — we too must know how to “power down” and “turn things off.” I submit that a true test of our spiritual lives and intimacy with God is related to how we power things off, and down, so that we may focus (exclusively) on our Lord.
You know the passage in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God…” I know that passage too. The verb, to be, to be in a state of being still, is a present tense verb that predicates an action. God is speaking it and the psalmist is writing it. I believe that today, in 2011, God is desiring that amidst all of the devices, gadgets, programs, and real time news overload, that His people……His very sons and daughters……would shut it all down and spend some time with Him in “still” presence. What does that mean? How can I do it? You really mean me? I don’t know if I can? The demands are too great. — You may be saying all or some of these statements, and that is perfectly fine. The fact is: Each situation will vary — but the Message from the Lord will remain the same. We need to find stillness before God and with God. This has been a priority for me in my own life and I hope it will somehow spill over in yours.
Lastly, and in some relationship with the whole “shut down” and “power off” model — I have to remind myself that nothing is happening in our world today that is taking God by surprise. So with war waging, tornadoes demolishing, hunger spreading, government corrupting, people running, lives crashing, and politics dividing (on both sides), I know that our Lord has the helm and we do well to put our faith, our confidence, our lives in His hands. Read Jeremiah 18:1-10. It is in His plan and will that we, His body…His bride…The Church…is to take the light and life He has given to us and illuminate a lost and fallen world. A world addicted to devices, gadgets, games, apps, and news commentaries; among many, many other things. Let us be still, right now. Let us know He is God, today and tomorrow and in the time He has apportioned that we have left.
Glory to His Name! Praise Him for His presence!
Pastor Porter
PastorPG's Blog 