If you take time away from TV and internet at all, you can find people that talk about how not staying connected constantly affords them a lot of extra time to get things done. Yeah, I get that. But you can also find lots of people on the internet saying the same thing.
And as I take a close look at certain Bible stories, I can see the truth. Let's look at Exodus 19 as an example. Moses and the Israelites have left Egypt and come to Mount Sinai. Look at what happens.
Exodus 19:3 - Moses goes up to the top of the mountain and receives a message from God.
Exodus 19:7 - Moses goes back down the mountain to give the people the message.
Exodus 19:8 - Moses goes up (one would guess to the top) to tell God what the people said.
Exodus 19:14 - Moses goes back down the mountain to prepare the people for when God will come to the mountain in a way that all the people can see. Three days pass.
Exodus 19: 20 - Moses goes up the mountain to meet with God.
Exodus 19:21 - God tells Moses to go back down and warn the people not to touch the mountain. Moses replies with, 'I'm pretty sure the people know not to touch the mountain.' Or something like that.
Exodus 19:25 - Moses goes back down the mountain to tell the people not to touch the mountain.
Moses goes up, Moses goes down.
Maybe you're more patient than me, but about the second time up that mountain I would have been asking God some questions. 'Hey, before I climb back down this mountain, is there anything else I should know? Anything at all?'
Because I would think that there might be a more efficient way to have accomplished all that they did in Exodus 19 than the way they accomplished it. This is not even counting Moses going back up to the top of the mountain in Exodus 20 to get the 10 commandments. It certainly does not count any of the other trips up and down.
Mount Sinai was like around 7,500 feet tall. That's taller than the Appalachian Mountains, though not a stall as the highest points in the Rockies. That is to say, this wasn't a short walk in the park. Did I mention that Moses is an 80-year old man at this point? It would appear that Moses had nothing better to do than to go mountain climbing every other day.
I think this may be part of our issue. We find it hard to imagine doing things so inefficiently. Up, down, up, down. Isn't there an easier way to get this done? That is the wrong question. Moses and the Israelites were at Mount Sinai to worship God, who by the way, had just saved their bottoms with a few miracles along the way.
Should hurry-up-and-get-to-the-point be our goal? Can we not find and make the time to worship God in a way that pleases Him? Can we not use our time in a way that God will find honoring?
We need to remember that God is not something to be added to our to-do lists, only to be checked off in the same way we accomplish grocery shopping and changing the oil.
When is the last time you took time to be with God, without looking at your watch?
And as I take a close look at certain Bible stories, I can see the truth. Let's look at Exodus 19 as an example. Moses and the Israelites have left Egypt and come to Mount Sinai. Look at what happens.
Exodus 19:3 - Moses goes up to the top of the mountain and receives a message from God.
Exodus 19:7 - Moses goes back down the mountain to give the people the message.
Exodus 19:8 - Moses goes up (one would guess to the top) to tell God what the people said.
Exodus 19:14 - Moses goes back down the mountain to prepare the people for when God will come to the mountain in a way that all the people can see. Three days pass.
Exodus 19: 20 - Moses goes up the mountain to meet with God.
Exodus 19:21 - God tells Moses to go back down and warn the people not to touch the mountain. Moses replies with, 'I'm pretty sure the people know not to touch the mountain.' Or something like that.
Exodus 19:25 - Moses goes back down the mountain to tell the people not to touch the mountain.
Moses goes up, Moses goes down.
Maybe you're more patient than me, but about the second time up that mountain I would have been asking God some questions. 'Hey, before I climb back down this mountain, is there anything else I should know? Anything at all?'
Because I would think that there might be a more efficient way to have accomplished all that they did in Exodus 19 than the way they accomplished it. This is not even counting Moses going back up to the top of the mountain in Exodus 20 to get the 10 commandments. It certainly does not count any of the other trips up and down.
Mount Sinai was like around 7,500 feet tall. That's taller than the Appalachian Mountains, though not a stall as the highest points in the Rockies. That is to say, this wasn't a short walk in the park. Did I mention that Moses is an 80-year old man at this point? It would appear that Moses had nothing better to do than to go mountain climbing every other day.
I think this may be part of our issue. We find it hard to imagine doing things so inefficiently. Up, down, up, down. Isn't there an easier way to get this done? That is the wrong question. Moses and the Israelites were at Mount Sinai to worship God, who by the way, had just saved their bottoms with a few miracles along the way.
Should hurry-up-and-get-to-the-point be our goal? Can we not find and make the time to worship God in a way that pleases Him? Can we not use our time in a way that God will find honoring?
We need to remember that God is not something to be added to our to-do lists, only to be checked off in the same way we accomplish grocery shopping and changing the oil.
When is the last time you took time to be with God, without looking at your watch?
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