Time for Perspective
Theme of the Week: Rest Is Not Optional
Hudson T. Armerding
Thursday, July 1, 2004
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Key Bible Verse: I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord, and I obey your law because of this (Psalm 119:55). Bonus Reading:Psalm 131:1-3
In our society, many prefer preoccupation to contemplation. For example, a surprising number of people cannot endure silence and seem afraid to engage in quiet reflection. We commonly see young people walking or driving down the street listening to blaring radios. These teenagers seem dependent upon continuous, dominating sound. Similarly, the first thing some adults do when they enter the house is to turn on the radio or TV. Even in Christian circles, frantic activism seems a compulsive necessity, justified too often as "for the Lord's sake" when it is really our own.
An experience in New England some years ago helped me get this issue in focus. I was asked to preach at the 200th anniversary of a church where the members did their best to recreate the conditions of the past. They sang using a tuning fork and dressed in that era's garb. The congregation also arranged that I should come into town in a horse and buggy. On my way into town time seemed to slow. I enjoyed the countryside, observing flowers and trees. Without the constraints of driving, I found time for perspective. The Christian needs such opportunities to contemplate the future.
—Hudson T. Armerding in The Heart of Godly Worship
Adapted fromThe Heart of Godly Leadership (Crossway, 1992) by permission.
My Response: Do I give myself opportunities to contemplate the future?
Thought to Apply: The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.
—Blaise Pascal (scientist, philosopher)
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Lord, help me practice what Scripture commands by allowing time for rest and reflection, especially on your Sabbath.
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