Let My Words Be Few...

I am a talker. Any of you who have spent any kind of time with me are aware of this, I'm sure! In recent months, I have become even more of a talker...or perhaps analyzer would be a better word. Over the last several years, there have been countless times when I have answered questions about God, faith, etc, with something like, "Don't overanalyze! God is God and we can't understand all He does because we can't see the whole picture. All we can do is trust His perfect heart and character. We don't have to understand." Hmmm...maybe I should have practiced my own preaching. Recently, I have been coming up daily with some deep topic that I am just itching to discuss with someone. Thankfully, my friends are very gracious and engage in long and intense conversations with me about whatever I may be wrestling. Most of the time, discussions like these make me praise God all the more as I learn new tid-bits about who He is and how I can better live for Him. Other times though, I just end up drained and frustrated. Answering one question leads to more and more questions until I become some sort of frenzied researcher, unwilling to stop until I have found the answers. This morning as I reflected on the analyzer I have become, it began to bother me but I wasn't sure why. I have become the way I am because I love God and am desperate to better know Him, serve Him, and love His people. That can't be wrong, can it? Yet, I began to think about what the Christian walk is, and this is what I came up with: The purpose--God's glory. The game-plan--relationships (with God and others). The mission--lost souls. The reward--Knowing and seeing God, whether in glimpses or His full majesty in heaven. Ok...so what makes a relationship? I began to consider marriage. If I were to marry a man or consider marrying a man, I would want to know everything I could about him. I would ask him questions to discover his likes and dislikes, his character, what he means when he says certain things, and how I can serve and honor him. But talking with him will only get me so far. I must be equally committed to getting to know him in stillness, without words. I need to discover who he is on a quiet walk in the park, who he is when I am embraced by him after a long day. Sometimes, simply being still with someone, beholding them, is the greatest way to come to know them. God was serious when He said, "Be still and know that I am God." He (thankfully) does not ask me to know everything all at once! He will teach me as I live for Him daily. But for now...I need to take the time to just be still and know. Well, that was a lot of words to say: Jesus, let my words be few.

Picture from: http://gingerscraps.blogspot.com/2009/02/freebies-22309.html