Just Now

I just had a great moment with God Himself.  It was so sweet and simple, but so meaningful to me I decided to run inside and get it all down so I won't forget.

I was outside in the back yard working on what for me passes as a tan.  I just have to say what a marvelous thing it is to be outside in sunny spring weather, mid 70's, when most people are shivering through mid winter.  I'm not boasting, just grateful.

Anyway, as I was soaking up some rays I was catching up on my email.  I read this brief prayer in a ministry newsletter:

Lord, show me. How can I receive more of you?

So, I asked Him.  And I heard Him say

"Consider those poppies."

Near where I was sitting, there is a raised flower bed that is currently filled with new poppies.  They sprung up just a few weeks ago, and now they are from 6 to 10 inches tall I'd guess.
So I sat and stared at them a bit, my mind buzzing with it's usual jabber.

I wonder what He wants me to consider about those poppies? They really are growing aren't they?  I wonder what it is about the poppies He wants me to see? Poppies, poppies, poppies, new poppies, growing poppies, poppies in the sun...

Then it occurred to me that I needed to shut up and LISTEN.  So I asked God to help me be mentally quiet so I could hear Him.  Sometimes, shutting up is the biggest challenge I have with prayer.

"What are they doing?" I felt Him ask me.

Again with the mental buzz saw: What are they doing?  Well, engaging in photosynthesis I suppose, and sending their roots deeper into the soil.  I suppose they are engaging in all manner of necessary functions for life and growth, and probably turning their leaves slowly to follow the path of the sun...

"Yes, but what are they DOING?"

Well, um, they're just, um, not actually doing much at all. They're just still. Soaking up the sun.  Receiving. Receptive.

"Yes."

And then it was crystal, bright and clear as the sun.  I wanted to know what I was to do to receive more of the Lord.  And the answer is so simple...receive more of Him!  It isn't in my doing at all, but in my receiving.

As I considered those poppies only moments ago, I realized they weren't really trying all that hard.  They were growing like fury, but all they had to do was simply receive.  What a restful thought!

But as Graham Cooke often points out, we must labor to enter that kind of rest.  To receive more of the Lord, we must be like those poppies.  We must be still.  We must be in a position and attitude to receive, yes, but that doesn't involve running around trying to find the best place, the correct formula, working up the proper spiritual mental state.

While I looked at the poppies, I saw a comical scene of them jumping up out of their soil and running around on spindly little root legs.  They were scampering around, looking for the best plot of soil, the best patch of sun.  How silly would that be!  And counterproductive, too.  All that running around out of the soil, searching for what they needed, when what they needed was to be in the soil, in the sun. And resting there.

So I think I get it.  I want more of the Lord. Excellent.  He is right here to be had.  All the time.
What I need, then, is to be like those poppies.  Be still.  Receive all that I need.  The Lord fills the air around me all the time, like the sunshine.  All I need to do is settle down and tune in.  It will require some focus with my mental (and sometimes physical) restlessness, which may be challenging at times.  But receiving from the Lord?  That's easy :0)  Thank you, Jesus!