Mark 13:33-37 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Start by centering your heart in God’s presence… Give thanks to Him that you do not need to hide anything from him. Affirm that He is faithful and good, and his mercy and grace are “new every morning.” (Lam. 3:22-23)
Now let Him begin the process of searching your heart. Are there ways you have not honored Christ this week? Where were your thoughts and desires not centered in Him? How have you failed in obedience to Christ?
Take a minute and meditate on the Mark 13 passage. Jesus says – be on guard, keep awake. Are there distractions in your life that inhibit the watchfulness we are to have? Is hurry your master? Have you grown complacent? Is there fear or anxiety in even thinking about the Day of the Lord?
Then, simply confess specifically what the Holy Spirit is showing you. Don’t rush through this process. Simply rest in God’s presence as He does this.
Now choose to let this go and receive the truth of this passage: “I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love”. If you have confessed a stronghold of fear or complacency receive Christ’s forgiveness for you. Remember – “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
And finally commit this confession to the Lord. As you rest in His grace and mercy ask Him how to walk this out. Ask for the supernatural power of His Spirit to give you what you need to move forward.
How is He calling you to watchfulness? How is He asking you to look for His second coming?
I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:6
Dear Jean,
Thank you for faithfully shepherding us (me) through this Season. It has been nurturing and helpful for me to have this structure and daily anchor, plus just nice to “see” you in my Inbox on a frequent basis 🙂
Approaching this Advent season some weeks ago, I purposed in my heart to hold time and space in my life to do my part to make it a season of peace and contemplation. I was determined not to fill it with busy-ness so as not to miss the “true meaning of Christmas”, as they say.
One reality of these past few weeks for me, however, has been a fair measure of what feels (at least to my introvert self) like chaos, leaving the peace I purposed to have and hold this year feeling like it is under assault. (Surprising? PCM/MPC has taught me maybe, “Not so much.” 🙂 A sick-for-weeks and grumbly husband, two legit medical emergencies – not over yet; a major surgery scheduled for 12/26 – with two of our dogs, a houseful of in-laws a couple of the weekends, etc. The season has felt turbulent and heavy rather than peace-filled and joyful. But…here I come to your themes of waiting, watching and repenting…
As I walked with our dogs in the blessed peace and quiet of our country property this morning, I confessed, “Lord, I am struggling…” Struggling to maintain inner quiet and Godward focus, struggling to stay out of my “false self” coping mechanisms, struggling – and not always succeeding – to resist the temptation to be a grouch and a grinch. The gentle response came, “I know.”
In that moment He reminded me that He DOES know. God became incarnate. He took on flesh, and was born as one of us. It was then I was reminded of James’ words to “Count it all joy…” and I caught a glimpse of what that actually means. (I haven’t always connected these dots.) The learning to wait (at least for me) is not so much waiting for the “big things”, but is rather a discipline of “small waitings”… of daily/hourly quieting my restless insides, of giving time and holding space to receive God’s “small” graces that are “new every morning”. Oftentimes for me the hardest “waiting” (though it is an active, working waiting) is the waiting to mature, to become, to be formed in Christ, to BE different. The becoming never stops, but it does take a while.
That brings me then to watching. It seems to me that without learning to wait, we cannot very effectively watch, for watching (and listening) involves a calm receptivity to whatever the LORD will provide. It means being vigilant to notice how, at EVERY moment, the Kingdom of God IS near and wants to break through into our daily lives and doings. If we cannot (or do not) watch, we miss it. And I fear I “miss it” a lot. Worthy fodder for repentance, that.
St. Paul says that the kingdom of God “is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The prophet Isaiah says, ”And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.“ (32:17) And in Fr. Hopko’s meditation for December 19 he says, “Paradise is not a place on the map. It is a condition of the spirit.” Yes! That sounds more like Christmas 🙂
So in the midst of chaos and challenges to our (my) peace, let us repent of the ways we (I) fail to trust God and to lean into His ever-available “small mercies” to help us in our time of need. Let us count it all joy, and let us (me) sing, truly SING, “Come, thou long expected Jesus!”
Glory to God.
Amen to all of this Michelle! the discipline of “small waitings!” – and the waiting to become… (I would add, not just becoming mature but…) just becoming. “Paradise is a condition of the spirit” – so true… Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle!