Come to Me

Busy.

Busy.

Busy. It seems like there's no escape, doesn't it?

Who else has felt overwhelmed by busyness?

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The Western world and college and professional athletics are busy. Anyone working in the industry knows games and events extend beyond nine-to-five, demanding unusual hours. How can we seek God's kingdom and live as Jesus calls us when our days fill with tasks: another email, game, post, sale, productive day, laundry, and more?

All to gain—what?

Our Master often withdrew to places like the Mount of Olives to connect with the Father, sometimes alone, sometimes with close friends among His disciples. This is the lifestyle to model—Jesus’ way, not the world’s, I urge you.

C.S. Lewis writes in The Screwtape Letters,” We can’t keep Christians from going to church.”

“We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.”

“We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their savior.”

“Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.”

“So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners,

BUT steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

“This is what I want you to do,” said the devil:

“Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”

“How shall we do this?” his demons shouted.

“Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered.

“Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow…”

“Keep them from spending time with their children.”

“As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!”

“Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.”

I cherish the still, small voice—how sacred, powerful, and lovely it is to commune continually with our Savior. Yet this awareness is so often under attack. How do we remain in these places of rest and intimacy with Jesus, even while walking out our divine callings in family, work, and community?

But how?

Here is a difficult truth: On your own, you cannot succeed at this.

Emphasis added to “you.”

But, please don’t stop reading. There’s Good News here.

In our carnal nature, apart from the Holy Spirit, we tend to fill our schedules with amusements or distractions, or, out of fear of stillness, we go, go, go. Our senses are trained to seek constant activity. We find fleeting happiness in "likes," comments, and approval, yet leave the true Treasure neglected. When was the last time you felt genuine joy simply at the THOUGHT of entering the Presence behind the veil?

There’s another category of people who the busyness of life simply happens to. I have so much empathy for people who find themselves in situations that seem impossible to be alone with God. I think of my friends with newborns who are not in control of their baby crying at one in the morning. Loved ones walking through tragedy and loss. Industry professionals who just entered the postseason saying “sayonara” to their comfortable beds at home. Possibly, game day for some is on Sunday (I’ve been there), and the one o'clock kick-off prevents you from joining in worship at your local church. Sound familiar?

Of course, it’s vital to address the aspects of life that make it challenging to deeply connect with the Father and, as Hebrews chapter four says, to enter into the promised rest of God. The clothes won’t fold themselves. The bills won’t get paid without a job, ya know? But what’s even more vital is that after addressing, we move on to an even greater truth(s), listed below.

Your impossibilities are God’s divine invitations. (It’s supernatural, indeed.)

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

God is in control of your schedule. (Yes, free will. But, isn’t genuine freedom found in submission?)

"He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" Daniel 4:35

Jesus is Lord over all. (Including your two-year-old throwing a tantrum.)

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Your life is not your own. (Nor do you want it to be.)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20

You do not operate in your own strength or power, but His. (Hallelujah!)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you...” Acts 1:8

Following Jesus means surrendering all things. (Yep, all.)

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

You can trust Him. (Don’t be afraid, dear one. You really can!)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 17:7

If you have, by the grace of God alone, given yourself wholly over to Him, surrendering your being to His, you are now walking in the fullness of Christ. The same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is alive in you. Can we even begin to comprehend what that means? Yes, only by His Spirit.

My friend, there is not a second, an hour of the day that you spend alone. Jesus said, “Guys, it’s better for me to go.” He has given us the Helper, the blessed Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Trinity, sent from Christ Himself to enable us to walk out this Christian life not perfectly, but in Oneness with God. Christ alone is perfect, and we get to taste that perfection when we lovingly submit to Him daily.

So, back to the original question. How do we break free from the bondage of busyness and enter into a life spent in the delight of His presence? You can’t be on a solo mission, but Christ in you absolutely positively can! Very good news!

JESUS SAVED YOU. YOU DIDN’T SAVE YOU. JESUS SAVED YOU.

This is Jesus whom we’re talking about. God Himself humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross to take on the punishment of sin for all of humanity. He was the spotless Lamb, crucified for us, that we would be blameless in the Blood before God. He made us at peace with God through the finished work of His death, burial, and resurrection. This is Jesus, who is coming back for His bride, whom He paid for. As we wait on Him to return, He is sanctifying us and teaching us how to walk with Him, talk with Him, and live fully alive IN HIM. In His mercy, He died to save you, while you were yet a sinner. Church, we can do nothing good apart from Him. His life is our life. This reality must be spiritually discerned; so help us, Holy Spirit, to realize its truth.

Now that we’ve laid the foundation for dependency rather than self-reliance, let’s chat about how we can shift from being productivity-driven to presence-driven. Remember that still small voice we mentioned earlier? Yes, let’s not forget that.

Psalm 90 begins with, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” This journey we call life is not a sprint. It’s a day-by-day sojourn, locking arms with, clinging to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it feels like an all-out dash to the finish line, and other days it’s a slow drip, learning to trust and surrender moment by moment. To number your day means not living in tomorrow, but accepting the daily grace that God provides for each breath you take on this planet. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness,” says Apostle Paul to the church of Corinth.

Each day upon waking, our role is to, “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship,” according to Romans 12:1. The sacrifice doesn’t get off the altar. Time and time throughout a day, I sense that still small voice, the Holy Spirit bringing me back into oneness with Him, learning to live surrendered to His will and rhythm and cadence, not my own. Here's the invitation:

Come to Him broken.

Come to Him, needy.

Come to Him, uncertain.

Come to Him happy.

Come to Him, sad.

Come to Him, overwhelmed.

Come to Him, joyful.

No matter where you are in your walk with the Lord, He’s inviting you to return to your first love and come to Him. Come to Him like a child, for such is the Kingdom of heaven. This may look like waking up earlier to spend time in prayer. Or scheduling one less call per day to open up space to seek His face before seeking that of another. It may mean cutting out TV time to unwind with the Word rather than worldly entertainment after a long day. For parents, I honor you; it could look like clinging to the feet of Jesus by mentioning His name as often as you think of Him during the day. (And reach out to your single / newly married friends to intercede for you. Everything is for a season!) Maybe before hopping onto the next work call, you shut off the computer for five minutes to simply pause and turn your affection towards Jesus.

I’ve been trying to comprehend what made the early church so radical and on fire to be filled with and follow the Holy Spirit. Could it have been their long work hours? Possibly, they spent some gruesome nights in prison. Could it have been the growing church? Perhaps, every beating gave them more boldness. I don’t know...I believe it was their vision of Jesus. 1 John 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” The early church knew Him. They saw Him, heard Him, touched Him...and therefore, proclaimed Him. We are not a different church. The Holy Spirit came for John, and the Holy Spirit is here for you. The Spirit of the living God wants all of you. Will you let Him know you? Will you let Him usher you from glory to glory?

What’s it going to take for you to forsake all and follow Him? To seek Him above all else? To wage this war on distraction and walk victorious in the light of His face? I’m starting in the mirror, asking this question. What’s it going to take, Karlie? The answer is, it takes Him. It takes this frame of dust returning to dust to rely fully on the mercy and love of Christ to first come to me.

Dependency is a wonderful thing. Knowing that we cannot save ourselves, nor can we remove this heart of stone for a heart of flesh in our own doing. It must be God who makes the first move. We cannot dig ourselves out of the pit. This Holy God on the throne, who is surrounded by twenty-four elders, living creatures that worship Him day and night, myriads and myriads of angels, sent His Son to us. He made the first move. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world.

In Philippians 2, we learn about the humility of Christ, who came to us.

“Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

He came to us in a lowly manger, through a humble virgin. He came to us from this...

“And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” Revelation 4:3-6

That God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. To take on the wrath of God for humanity’s sin, so that all those who declare, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, will be saved. This is a God who is always with us, yet so set apart from us. We get to hold the mystery, the tension of both. By His Spirit, day by day, we become more and more awakened to the reality of His love, His presence, His holiness, and His majesty. It’s walking both in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The King came to us, and He’s coming back again. In the meantime, He’s prepared a table for us to enjoy fellowship with God. It’s wild, it’s wonderful, and it’s available to you by the blood of Christ. Do you believe this?

So here’s our response...

We're back at Romans 12, which again says to prepare our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Your bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Chronicles, King Solomon, son of King David, built a temple for the Lord. To dedicate the temple, he prepared an altar and a sacrifice. After Solomon prayed, this happened.

“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

God has always desired to dwell with man. That’s not our idea, it’s God’s original design. Through Jesus Christ, God has made this happen. His glory now fills you as you present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. Psalm 5:3 says, “At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.”

Solomon’s Father, King David, got it. Every day, David, a man after God’s own heart, gave his life in surrender to God and waited for His presence to once again come and consume Him. He realized that this was the way of life, to wait upon the Lord and experientially be filled with His Spirit. We serve the same God of yesterday, today, and forever. We don’t have to be an Aaron or a Moses to enter into the Holy of Holies. We enter through the blood. This is worth waiting for. This is worth carving your day around to enter into His presence. This is worth pausing to thank Him and declare His goodness. The more we do this, the more we enjoy the bliss of belonging to God, being filled with His Spirit, and walking in relationship with our crucified and risen Lord.

Present the altar (come before Him). Jesus is the sacrifice. He reveals Himself to us. Our worship ignites communion. His Spirit is the fire. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. The word “busy” doesn’t even belong here anymore. Focus on just this one thing, Jesus. Watch Him restructure and organize your day to be about the Father’s business and enjoy delighting in Him as He first delights in You.

He is a God who speaks in the still small voice and the whirlwind. Job 28:1 says, “Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm.” Elijah on the mountain in 1 Kings did not hear God through the fire, the earthquake, or the wind, but in the whisper. We cannot constrain God to only communicating with us in our prayer closet. He’s longing to make Himself known in the worst, most chaotic moments and in the best, most peaceful moments. This is great news because, depending on the season of life or the day, you’re experiencing both. Whatever you’re walking through, cry out to Him to meet you in it. Ask Him for eyes to see and ears to hear what heaven is saying. This is the only remedy that will nourish and tend to your broken heart. He is the answer, always.

I love Luke 10:38-24.

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Karlie, Karlie. Martha, Martha. Reader, reader. You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed. Choose the good part. There is fullness of joy in His presence, and as Jesus said, that joy will not be taken away from you.

 John 17:3 says,” Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” This is our purpose and the pursuit of life. To know Him! As you ask Him to help you know Him, you will come to witness this for yourself. We were made to live in the always-present communion between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This unity overflows to the relationships around us. If you desire greater oneness in your family, seek to know Him. If you hope for a better day on your job, seek to know Him. If you’re ready for five seconds of quiet in a household of children, seek to know Him. Let Him show you what is possible in Him, a God who is not restricted by our human ideas, thoughts, or limitations.

Think about the impact of your life in 100 years. Generations will be changed and impacted by a person who is caught up in the love of Christ. Start afresh today and “Come to Him.” Depend on Him. Whenever He draws you, seek Him to find Him. It’s been a glorious wandering, but it’s time now to enter into the promised rest of His presence. We get to live here. By His Spirit, we need a maturing body of Christ to be on the same page and say, “Jesus, it’s all about you.” Only God can do this in us. Will you get on your knees before Him and invite Him into your life, to do this? It’s a narrow way that leads to life, and it is the only way.

The Great Commission always starts at the table of fellowship with the Son. (See Mark 16) Before we “go,” we must “know.” A life burning for Jesus is rooted in the upper room. It begins and ends with His Spirit. It’s a saved, willing heart that hears the call and responds to, “Come to Me.”

Prayer: Lord I surrender my schedule to you. Teach me how to abide, no matter what is happening. Open my eyes to see You. Open my ears to hear you. Reveal to me the joy of your presence. Show me your love.

I'm praying Ephesians 1:15-23 over you...

"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

God bless you!

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