TIME-OUT WITH JESUS
I don’t think I’d have to start with explaining what a Time-out is. For those who don’t know, it’s a break in a sport being played, called by one of the teams playing the game.
Today evening I was a little upset and I knew that I wasn’t thinking rationally which were causing me to do things I didn’t want to do. I knew what I was doing wasn’t the wise way to handle things but I could not stop myself either.
My baby meanwhile started crying and when I went to pick her up, I realized she wanted to be put to sleep. So I just sat on our sofa and held her in my hands and started singing to put her to sleep. As I was singing, my mind slowly shifted its focus towards God and I knew that God was exactly what I needed. I continued singing and my mind began to quieten down. And as I became calm God began to talk to me, in my heart. He showed me what had happened in the last couple of days and where I was wrong. And it was as clear as that.
Things had gone wrong which had left me hurt, insulted, ashamed and most of all disappointed and let down. And for the last two days that was all I knew, that I was hurt, that I was insulted… and so on and so forth. I probably could not see beyond that. I also did question God cause I felt what happened was as a result of me obeying something very specifically that He had asked of me.
But as I sat on the sofa, holding my baby and singing, God showed me where I was wrong. I hadn’t trusted Him. If I had trusted Him, I’d have been calm. If I had trusted Him, I’d not have reacted.
Two things happened as a result of the Time-out. One, my mind shifted its focus to God, because of which I was able to relax and let go of all my worry and trust Him. As a result of which, God’s peace filled my heart. Two, I was able to see where I was wrong. Till then I could only think of how I had been wronged but could not see where I had been wrong.
When in the middle of a problem, or if you don’t feel at peace, or you’re confused, or you don’t know how to handle something… or for no reason but just to hear the voice of God, take a Time-out. Try to sit somewhere calm, you could sing songs or just sit quietly and speak to God as with a friend.
Just like in Sports, time-out is sometimes also important in our lives. A time-out to just calmly analyse whatever is going on and what we need to do moving forward. It not only helps us calm down but also helps to shift our focus on God, where it should have been in the first place.
Isaiah 26:3 - You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
