I have discovered again the secret to balance. It is a mystery that the Holy Spirit reveals to His own. It is a special knowledge that you may know already—but it is easily forgotten. So easily!
The secret is tucked away in a little word – “abide.” But what does that mean??
Jesus says, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” ( John 15:9). Later the apostle John wrote about abiding in Jesus, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24).
Abide in its original meaning is “to stay.” There are different applications to that word, “stay.” As a believer in Jesus, I have become a part of God’s family. When I mess up, I don’t leave His family. I stay. However, I do leave His presence. This is the deeper application . . . . how to stay in His presence.
It’s the same concept that a French monk in the 1600s described in his writing compiled in the book, Practicing the Presence of God, which he lived out in his daily life.
“Brother Lawrence retreated to a place in his heart where the love of God made every detail of his life of surpassing value. ‘I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world.’ Together, God and Brother Lawrence cooked meals, ran errands, scrubbed pots, and endured the scorn of the world.
He admitted that the path to this perfect union was not easy. He spent years disciplining his heart and mind to yield to God's presence. ‘As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before him, fixing my mind upon his holy presence, recalling it when I found it wandering from him. This proved to be an exercise frequently painful, yet I persisted through all difficulties.’” (http://www.ccel.org/l/lawrence)
Jerry Bridges describes the sin of ungodliness that most do not even recognize. Many excuse it as acceptable and really not a sin at all. He defines this ungodliness as, “living one’s everyday life with little or no thought of God, or of God’s will, or of God’s glory, or of one’s dependence on God” (Book title: Respectable Sins) . But there is a different way.
“Abide in My love” ( John 15:9). It is a love invitation that Solomon wrote, “My beloved spoke, and said to me: ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away’” (Song of Solomon 2:10). Jesus, Himself, calls us to a deeper, intimate relationship with Him. But we must “come away”!
And, herein, lies the struggle of balance. How can we possibly have the quality time that our hearts long for in the busy muddle of our daily lives?
This is “where rubber meets the road,” so to speak. The discussion of abiding sounds good, but is it possible? There are thousands of people out of the richness of their experience who would shout, “Yes!” But it is not easy. We must fight for it . . . not once, but continually. Nevertheless, it is a fight well worth engaging in and winning!
For me, this fight begins with fasting. I find that although my heart desires to live in His presence, my flesh is stronger and overrules my desires. Fasting is an opportunity to pursue humility and exercise my spiritual muscles, so that, by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, I can overcome the pull of my fleshly nature. Oftentimes, prayer is the last thing we want to do when we are angry and frustrated. The same is true with fasting. It is not at all what we want to do—but it can be a key to victory.
With spiritual resolve, I can push through, drag myself out of bed, and carve out time for Jesus in the quietness of the morning even if I’m too tired. His joy gives me strength. His Spirit enables me to practice His presence.
To learn this important lesson, the Lord will allow you to become so busy that there is little room for Him. He will allow you to experience the stress and anxiety. He will watch as you become irritable and overwhelmed—because, it is in our desperation that we will finally come to Him in dependency and determination to fight for a different existence. As the song by Cory Asbury expresses (below), it really is Where I Belong.
"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it."
- Brother Lawrence
Resources:
Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge
http://www.practicegodspresence.com/reflections/others_words.html
http://www.practicegodspresence.com/reflections/words-br-lawrence.html
Where I Belong by Cory Asbury
Verse:
Your presence is all Im longing for, here in the secret place
Your nearness is all Im waiting for, here in the quiet place
Here in the secret place
Pre-chorus:
My soul waits for You alone/Like the watchmen wait for dawn
Here Ive finally found the place/Where well meet, Lord, face to face
Chorus 1:
I've finally found where I belong/I've finally found where I belong, in Your presence
I've finally found where I belong, it's to be with You, to be with You
Bridge:
I am my Beloved's and He is mine
So come into Your garden and take delight in me, take delight in me
Chorus 2: Delight in me, delight in me; delight in me, delight in me
Outro: Here in Your presence, God, I find my rest/Here in Your presence, God
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