Pause to Pursue

Psalm 119:25-32 (NLT)

 

I lie in the dust;
    revive me by your word.
I told you my plans, and you answered.
    Now teach me your decrees.
Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, 
    and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds. 
I weep with sorrow; 
    encourage me by your word. 
Keep me from lying to myself; 
    give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. 
I have chosen to be faithful; 
    I have determined to live by your regulations. 
I cling to your laws. 
    Lord, don’t let me be put to shame! 
I will pursue your commands, 

    for you expand my understanding.    

       The imagery of this group of verses in Psalm 119 gives me a feeling of irony. Pausing and pursuing. On the first line, lying in the dust - a pause, a stop. On the penultimate line, pursuing a movement. The psalmist was on a pause but he was in pursuit at the same time. But what was the writer pursuing? What was the purpose of pursuit during that time of pause?

        Days before I encountered this portion of Psalm 119, a phrase came into my mind - "Pause or pursue." It was the Holy Spirit speaking to me during these lockdown days and in this season of waiting for a new assignment from God. Then in one of my daily devotions, I was so amazed that the imagery it impressed on me was the message of pause and pursue. A dichotomy. In my time of pause, pursue God's presence and His Word. God never ceases to leave me in awe and wonder how He reveals His Truth when you diligently seek Him and His Word.

        For me, the lockdown days were vital days when we were given the opportunity to stop and pause. We had a chance to look inward. An unexpected time of halt from the hustle and bustle of the busy world. All of our plans were unexpectedly interrupted. Our timelines for personal goals were disrupted. I imagine a light switch turned off like a rest for the night at the end of the day. It was like lying in the dust described to us by the psalmist. A pause.

       Here are some of my observations as I pondered the stanza:

I. Postures on the Pause

        1. Posture of Humility

        The psalmist humbly asked for personal revival. Revival by God's Word. God's Word has the power to give us new life, new energy and enthusiasm when we feel discouraged and down.

    2. Posture of Honesty

        The psalmist presented his plans to God, honestly telling God what's on his heart. He sought the help of God when he didn't understand. He wept in sorrow seeking God's encouragement.

    3. Posture of Hearing from God

        The psalmist asked God to teach him His decrees, to understand the meaning of His commandments, asking God the privilege of knowing His instructions.

II. Purposes of Pursuit

        1. Knowing God's Word

        As mentioned in the posture of hearing from God, the psalmist asked God to teach him His decrees, to understand the meaning of His commandments, asking God the privilege of knowing His instructions.

        2. Meditating on God's Word

        In verse 27, the psalmist said he will meditate on God's wonderful deeds as he seeks understanding of the meaning of God's commandments.

        3. Living by the Word

        In verse 30, the psalmist chose to be faithful and determined to live by God's regulations.

        With these words from this stanza, the passion of the psalmist for the Word of God vividly created clear images of pause and pursue for me. What a wonderful truth to learn and live my life. My prayer is that I will be more and more passionate in constantly pausing and pursuing God's presence and His Word.

REFLECTION

        If this struck a chord in you, what comes to mind as next steps to pause in and pursue the presence of God? Just like the psalmist, we can ask God to teach us His decrees. The Holy Spirit Himself will teach us and help us understand His Word.

Essentials and Non-Essentials

Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Essentials and Non-Essentials - words we hear and read a lot these days. The type of work that are considered essentials are open to serve the basic needs of people while communities are in lockdown. The non-essential jobs are asked to stay home as a measure to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus. I googled the meaning of essential and Lexico powered by Oxford gave me this meaning: Absolutely necessary; extremely important. When I think about my spiritual journey, what are absolutely necessary? What are extremely important? What are the essentials and non-essentials?

First, I want to reflect on the essentials.  The same question that was asked by an expert of the law, a Pharisee, to the Lord Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 is what I personally ask myself as we go through this season of newness from the normal routine and lifetyle we had before the pandemic. What is essential? Which is the most important thing in this life? When I lay down to sleep at night at the end of the day, what part of the day did I think, say and do what's important, the essential? In this time of pause, of being locked inside, I take the opportunity to look inside my heart. As I ponder on the verse Matthew 22:36-40, I ask myself - Why am I doing what I do? For what? Is it really essential? Is it out of my love for God - to love Him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength? Is it out of love for people, my neighbors, far or near? I read a post on facebook that eloquently said that this pandemic exposed our hearts, how we love or not love. I absolutely agree and as I watch my reaction to situations and people around me, I see all the flaws and sins in my own heart, the things that are not right in the sight of God, those unloving thoughts, words, and deeds. But God, in His mercy and unfailing love forgives and cleanses us from all unrighteousness when we come to Him and confess our sins (1John 1:9). It is His love in us that will empower us to love - loving God and loving people. It is what we absolutely need - absolutely essential.

On the other hand, what are the non-essentials? In 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) it says: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." When I look back at the past two decades, I feel like life has suddenly turned so fast. I feel the immense acceleration of lifestyle like watching a Nascar race. Life is so hurried. I saw the evolution of cellphones, the rise of technology, making people so connected by just swiping and touching screens. There's always something to chase for, to buy, to achieve, to reach, leaving little space or no space at all to pause and praise and pray to the Giver of this life we breathe. When I reflect on the life of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was on earth, His life was spent not hurriedly but always intentionally resting and pausing and praying and showing love and compassion to those around Him. One of my lockdown reflections is the realization that the things and pride of this world are non-essentials. This is not to say we don't need things but it is when things, the provisions instead of the Provider become the center of my life.

The turn of this new decade was unexpected, unprecedented. Life was suddenly sent back to the basics, the daily essentials we need - food, shelter, simple clothes to wear, the value of time together at home with loved ones. The pause from the perceived normal pursuit provided space to identify the essentials or non-essentials in life. Having to slow down during a lockdown gave an opportunity to look inside our hearts. At the end of the day, I want to daily ask myself - "Did I spend the day to love my  God and my neighbors - the truly essentials in this life? It's a choice we make each day. 

REFLECTION:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

We are loved and He is waiting for us to respond to His love.

Reflecting on the Scripture below, what practical ways can you show love...

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (NIV)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

After Resurrection

John 20:19-20

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

It's been three years since I last posted on this blog.  It's amazing my last entry was the day after the Resurrection day.  Today is the day after the Resurrection Day! I was prompted by a facebook post of a friend that said: "What part of your life needs to be resurrected?"  Even before that facebook post, my brother encouraged me to blog again. More than anybody else's words, the Lord has been nudging me to write again. I have been procrastinating on writing. I am so amazed that exactly around this time three years ago, I wrote about the wonder that God let us experience as a family that Resurrection Sunday when we were on our way to our family tradition of watching the sun rise by the lake.

This year, as we all exprienced, was a different Resurrection Day celebration. Locked indoors in our homes on these uncertain times due to the corona virus pandemic the world is facing, we didn't have our traditional trip to the lake to watch the sunrise and have a family devotional there. Rather, we watched our church service partly broadcasted on a local television channel in our bedroom and the rest we watched online in our kitchen.

I want to share the verse that our pastor shared in the service.  In John 20:19, the disciples, like us, were locked indoors because of fear. With the pandemic this world is facing right now, people wrestle with fear, anxiety, paranoia. But the the next verse was a light in their present darkness.  The Lord Jesus appeared with His powerful words that we desperately need right now: "Peace be with you."  Wherelse can we find peace but from the Prince of Peace Himself. What a place of refuge and strength as we go through this path of uncertainty.

This year is definitely an unforeseen way of remembering the Resurrection Day. But we have the same God Who was raised from the dead Who gives us His assurance of peace in His presence. As we stay indoors on these uncertain times, may we be filled with God's promise of peace.