I don't know where I'm going with this post.
Just so you know. I am writing this post without going back to rewrite things or thinking ahead of where I'm going with it because I am processing what I'm writing while writing it.
I have been focused on writing papers the last few days straight for school. I am in the library at my school, and a few minutes ago, I decided to step outside to get some air. Things were feeling crowded in my space.
I sat on a bench and noticed the wind blowing in the trees. Then I noticed that not all of the leaves and branches were moving. Just then, the wind picked up, and the same spots were not moving, even though everything else began to move more violently. I began to think about how that could be related into life.
The Spirit moves and is at work in so many ways. More than we can imagine. However, it doesn't always feel like it. There are gaps. There are times where I don't know what I am being called toward. And rather than say the Spirit isn't working or even that the Spirit isn't working around me, I am going to say that the Spirit's work is a calling to be.
Just being is a high calling that we do not take on ourselves. "Be still and know that I am God" said the Lord. Be. Not "Work hard to know that I am God" or "Evangelize to know that I am God" or "Read the Bible to know that I am God." Do not get me wrong, there are benefits and commands for working, evangelizing, and studying. But there is also a call to "Be".
"To be or not to be?" is a quote from Shakespeare, but it is a question that we ask ourselves all the time, mostly leaning toward not simply being but doing. Stop doing so much. Sabbath and rest and trust are important. Jesus took time away from crowds to simply be with God. If that was so important to Him, why are we so prone to call people "lazy" or question their ethics or motivation when we don't see specific things being produced. Being and knowing that He is God doesn't have measurable fruit other than it will saturate our lives in other areas so that we can produce more fruit.
This is a reminder to myself, especially at a stressful time, to simply be. The Spirit is at work, but if all we did was move, we couldn't know what we are aiming for. Leaves blowing back and forth all the time don't have rest or an identity of what exactly they are to be. It is exhausting. Seeing where they are simply being allows for people to see the ways the Spirit is actually at work.
