Take a breath. What are you running from? What are you running to? What’s it all mean anyway? We push ourselves to the limit day after day after day in search of some peace, finding some meaning or perhaps just a little bit of hope. Why are we so obsessed with doing when the end result turns out that nothing is getting done? Step back. Take a breath.
Did you ever notice that Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry? He always had time to touch the person in need, to play with little children or to speak to the outcast. He never seemed to script His day; He just met needs as he found them. He knew what He was about. He understood His core mission. Yet He never seemed overwhelmed by what we might call intrusions on His time. He walked in perfect peace, knowing exactly where He was headed and knowing exactly what He was going to accomplish. Jesus wasn’t perplexed by the unexpected roadblock or stressed by opposition to His plans.
So here we are claiming to model our lives after Christ. Reality check: our lives look absolutely nothing like that of Jesus. We’re fooling ourselves. We have gotten so good at being “Christian” that we no longer seem to be followers of the Way. We claim His Lordship but fret over the pettiest of problems. We claim to love others like He did but seize every opportunity to go along with hurtful words and gossip. We rush and hurry and stress and rejoice when we take five minutes out of our day to pray. Jesus regularly got alone with God to pray. It was central to His life, not simply something he tacked on at the end of the day as an afterthought.
Jesus took time to breathe. He left space around all His activities. He wasn’t afraid to rest or withdraw from everything to keep perspective. He breathed. When was the last time you took a breath in your life? When was the last time you remember being so on mission that you were unbothered by the mess the day threw at you? Have you ever been that certain of your life, your purpose? Or like most of us do you rush about doing something – anything – to prove you are moving forward?
Take a breath. Withdraw from everything; get rid of the cell phone and the pager. Sit in the presence of God and just… breathe. Ask Him to give you a vision of what your life could look like if only He truly was Lord. Ask Him what it would look like if you were a little less of a Christian and a little more a follower and lover of Him. And then breathe. Feel your lungs expand and release. Move forward with a passion of purpose. See, really see, the needs around you and minister to them as Christ did. In this you will find the beautiful rhythm to life that you have always sought.