Be Here

This weekend while we were visiting Memphis, my sister’s minister said something I found striking. You know when you hear things and they smack you out of the blue and you’re certain there’s something going on you’re supposed to take note of. I like to first think “okay, why is this jumping out at me? and then try and make a connection. “Is this a lesson I need to hear? Is this something that can help me? “Is this an answer?” When things like that jump out at you, no matter where it’s coming from, don’t ignore it!

In my experience, it’s probably from God and you should probably write it down. So, this was one of those things…

In Exodus 24 God is about to go up on the mountain with Moses and give him the commandments and he says this:

“Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

The minister told us that in Hebrew it says “be there” instead of “stay there.” God says come up and BE HERE. He went on to talk about some other cool stuff but that’s what struck me.. that phrase

“BE HERE.”

I think he wanted Moses to be there yes physically but also mentally. He wanted him to really focus and prepare for what they were about to do. He didn’t even speak to him for 7 days. Moses was just… there.

I think this is why it struck me- There are so many times I rush through life. I’m not “here” physically or mentally. I am always thinking about the next thing during whatever is going on. As I type this, I’m wondering when my little girl I nanny will wake up from nap, and then consequently, when I’ll finish this post. I’m thinking about dinner tonight and when I’m going to find time to unpack from the last two weekends and also finish up some other work.

I am so gracefully called into his presence through reading the word, or waking up and worshipping on my commute, and then (not so gracefully) i’m out. Onto my busy day. So glad that I had a bit of encouragement then i’m onto the next thing. Listen, I can’t fulfill this blog or podcasts or all of the part time jobs with my head in the clouds right? Girl’s gotta go.

I would say most of the time I “think” I’m bringing that peace with me. I for sure can tell you the “right” answer of “Jesus is always with me, Holy Spirit within me, etc.” But, is that how I act? If it were, would I react in fear like I tend to do? Would I get so frazzled at my schedule if I truly believed God were really with me? I long for the peace of God to go with me, yet I so often walk off without him.

I know I’m not alone in this. I wonder what our days would look like if we said “God what do you have for me today?” Then wherever he took us, or whatever he wanted to show us, we remained there. We soaked it in. We were there like God called Moses to be there.

This doesn’t mean we have our head in the clouds and we don’t do the tasks at hand. I think it means we know God always has something for us, therefore we allow him to come along with us and invite him into those tasks. We know his goodness so we acknowledge he’s right there with us through those busy days, and ask him for guidance in those moments.

John 15:4 says this:

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Remain. We’ve got to continue to stay in that place in order to bear good things. We don’t consciously make the choice to drift most times, but we can consciously decide to remain. To focus on what is good, what is truth, and what is beneficial.

I don’t know about you all, but I believe that every good and perfect gift does come from above, and I want to be consistently connected to the one who does the giving. I want to be present to what he is doing instead of asleep at the wheel, trying to drive through life. I want to be here.

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