In the Gospel, Jesus receives the seventy-two he had commissioned to heal and exorcize demons in his name. They returned rejoicing at the wonders that they experienced in their service and Jesus shared with them that what was more amazing was not so much that “the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).
What is amazing about what Jesus is sharing is that much more than what we do, even in doing God’s will, is who we are in relationship with God. That our names are written in heaven means, we know God. God cares about us personally and intimately. God knows each of us by name and knows us better than we know ourselves. Even though God does not need us, God yearns for relationship with us and has planted that very desire to be in relationship with him in the very depths of our minds, hearts, and souls. God also wants us to participate in his plan of salvation history and has a particular part for us to play.
When we give ourselves some time to take this in, to rest and stop, to breathe, really take some deep and slow breaths, and ponder not only how much God loves us, but actually give ourselves time to rest in and receive his love. Wow! You’ll never breathe or see the world in the same way again. When we receive something negative or harmful we are able to process and receive that in three seconds. To receive something good or to hear someone say we are loved, can take from 30 – 90 seconds to process.
We might hesitate or question whether God cares because we might believe that he allowed something to happen or not to happen, or because we have unwittingly welcomed the negative influence and lies of the enemy, such as: we may not care about having our name written in heaven, for what’s the point of having an eternal relationship with someone who doesn’t care enough to listen. Lies such as these keep God at a distance. God hears all our prayers even while they are still thoughts in our mind.
He knows our deepest needs, hurts, and desires more than we do. To experience God’s love though, to know that he hears our prayers, we will need to slow down and be still for more than a moment. God speaks in the silence of our hearts and we will hear his voice and experience his love when we remain still long enough to hear, receive, and rest in his word.
Just taking a moment to be still, and to bring our questions to God is a good first step. For God is the best one to answer them. We just need to be prepared that he may answer our question with more questions. He may also say yes, no, not yet, or yes in a different way that we think. As long as we enter into the conversation, God is present. It is not so much that we need to get up and do something, as much as… we need to sit and allow God to do something in and through us, and to remain still long enough to hear, receive, and rest in the gift of God’s love. Having received and rested in God’s love, we will better discern each thought to entertain, word to speak, and action to take.
Photo: “Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
