Shut Up & Sit Down!

In life we are faced with many questions that we have no clear answers for. We go over them, over-analyzing every angle, drawing out pros and cons for each answer we come up with, we then try to gauge how we feel about each answer, but then end up more confused than before. We then seek counsel from friends and/or family who add on to our confusion with their opinions and suggestions. With all these noisy disorderly thoughts going on inside our heads like cooked uncut spaghetti strands; we sure could use traffic cops/lights in there, so we can deal with one thought at a time. You’re left wondering whether to pursue, to wait or let go and what it would mean to do whichever one you pick. I think that’s what Adele was referring to as ‘pavements that lead nowhere’, in her song ‘Chasing pavements’.

Don’t you just wish you could pull a Russian roulette on ‘em answers and whichever one gets shot at is it?

I’m currently in such a quagmire that began as a passing thought last year, but has now developed into a series of unanswered questions. At one point I was certain that God had given me a direct answer but then four different unrelated people said things that threw me off for a while, before I was back on my conviction of the answer I believe God had given me. But even that hasn’t been easy to do as every day I keep asking myself (In a British accent) “exactly what did God really say? Did He really speak and if He did, why am I still going round in circles, why is there stagnation and uncertainty? What if I’m wrong? What if I’m right?” Everyday there’s a new set of “what ifs” and me head’s been spinning like a carousel and its exhausting! Why can’t there be a simple Yes or No…..aaaargh! I can’t count the many times I’ve thought of walking away from the whole thing all together, but every time I try to leave, something keeps pulling me back (now I sound like Chingy - past life don’t ask). On Thursday I decided I was done, but as of Sunday afternoon after having two interesting conversations, I was not even sure where I stood. Sunday evening I decided to shut it down, but that didn’t end the questions. And as if that ain’t enough, this is/was not the only thing on my mind, there are like a zillion issues with random unanswered questions. I felt like I wanted to get me a ticket to Mongolia (just somewhere far from all the noise).

Do you ever feel like life shoulda come with a ‘mute’ or ‘refresh’ button or better yet, a ‘next’ button? (So you can skip over quagmires)

Today God reminded me that the purpose of the Holy Spirit in us is to bring revelation….to guide us into all truth. (John16:13). And the Holy Spirit speaks to us daily but many are the times we’re not listening. Sometimes we miss out on what He says in response to our prayers coz He doesn’t answer them as we anticipate Him to. {We need to ask God to make us alert to His responses to us.}

Sometimes when we do listen, we question what He tells us. The first sin committed was not eating the forbidden fruit, but doubting what God had said. The first temptation was to question what God had said. (“Did God really say…?” Gen 3:1 NIV). Doubt then leads to disobedience. The enemy causes you to question what God says to throw you into doubt and unbelief. And when we fall into his trap we end up spinning ourselves round in circles of unanswered questions then run around trying to get them answered the best way we know how, but end up stuck in a bog (chasing pavements) we can’t get ourselves out of. With all the noise and busyness, one can hardly hear what the Holy Spirit is saying!

I re-listened Bill Johnson’s sermon ‘Be quiet and sit down’ last night and he said “we usually try to obtain revelation and experience in the context of busyness instead of in quietness {shut up and sit down}. When the Psalmist said “BE STILL….” (Psalms 46:10) He wasn’t giving the concept of a church service, he meant “STOP THE BUSYNESS”” (in other words, sit down and press the mute button)

So, how do we sit down and mute the noise??

By resting in God, in who He says He is and in who He says we are in Him. Simple ‘ey?

The psalmist said “Be still, and know that I am God.” Being still means ‘to halt, to be motionless, to rest’ and the word ‘Know’ here refers to ‘intimacy’. So rest in an intimate relationship with God. We are called to dwell in God as He dwells in us (John 15:4 AMP). Dwell means to be a permanent resident of a place. So we need to be permanent residents in a love relationship with God, since He’s already a permanent resident in us (Matthew 28:20, John 14:16). And from this place of intimacy, we are at rest and get to experience God tangibly and hear Him clearly. The noise will still be there, but on mute, and the only voice you’ll hear is Gods’.

Resting is a gift from God.

Graham Cooke in his sermon ‘The practice of rest’ says “Resting was the first thing God introduced into His relationship with man. He gave man the capacity to be at rest in Him. Man’s first day on earth was a day of rest. Gen 2, God did all the work then man entered into rest and the fruits of it.”

This doesn’t negate the place of working but rest means living in a state of God’s peace no matter what’s happening around you. Resting gives you the capacity to view life in a particular way, so that you’re more God-conscious than anything else. It also gives you the capacity to see beyond what’s infront of you. Rest means you’re always on purpose/assignment- you never forget who you are and what you’re to do. When you’re in rest, you stop striving-trying to do things in your own effort…. You are now waiting, watching and listening for what God wants you to do.

Kenneth E. Hagin in one of his books, I think ‘The Midas touch’ said that once you get a revelation, don’t rush to share it until you’ve first put it to practice, and proved that it works. But I decided to let you in on this one then maybe after, we can share our stories ‘ey.

Parting shot…

I like what Dr. Mark Chironna says. He says “Sometimes close proximity to a situation requiring a solution, prevents you from seeing the larger landscape and the root issue, so step back.”

Step away from the quagmire into God’s rest. The bible clearly tells us that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places far above all principalities (Eph 1:20-21, 2:6). That’s our current location. Sitting is an attitude of rest. Us seated in heavenly places needs to stop being good theology and become our experience, our lifestyle… we enter God’s rest by believing. Experience is as a result of believing. It’s up to you and me to choose to enter into an intimate love relationship with God and hence His divine rest. Like I said in my blog dabbed ‘Prison break’, I’ve made up my mind to not be a prisoner of quagmires that cause me unrest, anxiety, doubt, fear, panic, negativity etc. I choose to enter in God’s rest (to shut up and sit down in Him) whether I have answers to my current questions or not.

Bill Johnson then says “If you don’t take time to just sit, you’ll never capture the pregnancy of a moment. What happens in the quiet sets you up to hear in the busy.”

So SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!