It is been almost 3 years since my last blog post. You may ask, “Why so long?” What I will tell you is that even though I haven’t written anything down to share with you all, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t productive. In those three years, I’ve seen some sharp peaks and very deep valleys. However, God brought me through them all. There have been many lessons I’ve learned and many more I’m still learning. One thing I’ve learned is the act of sitting before the Lord.
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we need to do something grand or monumental to get the Lord’s attention. This can be further from the truth. God is not impressed with our works alone. What God does honor, however, is our faith coupled with good works. The bible does indeed say that, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). We have to remember it’s about the posture of our heart. When we do something in the name of the Lord, are we doing it for our own gratification? Or are we doing it for the purpose of giving God glory? So, how does this all relate to sitting before the Lord? Sitting in general is not a great physical act. In fact, it requires hardly any energy at all. So, how can something so simple gain God’s attention? Sitting before the Lord is an act of humility, faith, and meekness and requires prayer. To further explain, let’s take a look at a person in the bible most of us are familiar with, David.
After many wars, David finally had peace. One day, as he was sitting in his house, David purposed in his heart to build the Lord a temple. He looked around at his beautiful palace and remembered that the Lord was the one to give him all of this. He told the Lord, that he wanted to do something grand, something special, something that had never been done before: build the Lord a temple. However, the Lord said no. The Lord told him that the temple would be built by his son, Solomon. David’s intentions were pure and I’m sure God loved the fact that David had a desire to do this great thing. But God had other plans. Check out David’s response to the Lord: “Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, ‘Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that thou has brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord GOD; but thou has spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? (2 Samuel 7:18-19)’” David trusted God’s wisdom. As mighty as David was, he still had enough humility to sit before the Lord and acknowledge God’s sovereignty and the frailty of man.
So, you see, sitting before the Lord allows us to stop what we are doing and give God full reign to search our hearts. It’s not just a physical act, but it is also a spiritual one. When we humble ourselves and repent, God is pleased. Sitting involves rest. The word rest means to stop, be still, and be silent. It also involves prayer. Prayer is two-way communication to the Lord. David, in the scripture we just read, prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard him. When we sit before the Lord, we have to quiet ourselves so that we can hear the Lord clearly.
So, I would like to pose a few questions to all my readers. When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? Do you check your phone? When you get home from work, do you lay down, turn on the tv, or do you get on social media? Do you cook right after work or work out in the gym? Or do you do all these things? When you are done, do you leave time to sit before the Lord? I challenge you today and for the rest of your individual lives (I’m speaking to myself also!) to sit before the Lord every day before you get ready for work and right after you get home. Don’t let this be a religious act, but make your relationship with the Lord priority. Spend time with Him. We should let the Lord know we are nothing without Him. David knew this. So should we.
-Blake