Faith begins with resting in the presence of God.
We all know of faith, but to really know faith, we must experience faith.
As I was going through my study notes from last week, I was perusing through the “left-over” stuff that didn’t make it into my message. I came across some thoughts from Luke 9. It was four simple words that spoke to me about faith:
“Have them sit down …”
Five-thousand-plus people have been listening intently to Jesus. They’ve come from around the region to see the man whom they’ve heard about. And now they’re hungry. You know how that feels when you are enjoying a pastor’s message but thinking about going out to eat after church.
Jesus’ staff (disciples) noticed the people were hungry and weren’t able to offer anything to them (verse 12). The day was long, the ministry was good, but the people were in need. And then those four words come in:
“Have them sit down …”
Why do I see these words as powerful and impactful? They convey a posture of rest, trust and expectation.
Faith is both invitation and activation (“I do what I believe”), but sometimes the activity of your faith is as simple as sitting down so that you can invite his activity in you. It’s resting at his feet. It is calming yourself in the midst of what you’re facing to trust in him.
Sit down.
Our attention is pulled in fifty different directions by people, tasks and devices. In a culture of massive activity where busyness equates to productivity, taking a moment to sit in the presence of Jesus and receive from him can be just what your faith needs in order to grow deeper. There’s something about the posture of sitting that stills us so that we can receive what we’d most likely miss because we won’t stop moving. Sitting is posturing yourself in a way that invites his activity in your life.
You want to deepen your faith? Sit. Take a moment to rest in his presence so that he can give you strength and wisdom. As you rest in him, trust your day to him. Invite his leading and provision for what you need to face the day. Listen for his voice to grow expectation in your heart.
And when you’ve rested, then take your faith and make it active in your life.
Read more from Dave Barringer »
This article originally appeared on Dave’s blog.
