Day 4 – The Exchange: 21 Days of Spiritual Swaps

Today I woke up, feeling very tired.

I got dressed, read a couple of bible paragraphs and prayed.

I soon felt that God was directing me to swap doing for listening.

So, I set a timer for three minutes and tried to be still in the presence of God. I tried to listen to what the Holy Spirit was saying to me.

When I do this, I usually recite one bible verse in my mind, again and again. Usually, it’s this one:

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’”

Psalm 46:10, NIV.

Today, however, I noticed that my mind was all over the place! It was so hard to focus on God.

I thought about everything, except the verse I was trying to recite! I thought about cleaning my house, I thought about what to write on this blog and I spent a lot of time thinking about how tired I was!

My favourite book of the bible is James. The author is blunt, practical and I find that his assertiveness really cuts through any nonsense in my thought life. In James 1, it reads:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”

James 1:19, NIV.

You and I should be quick to listen and slow to speak. But, so often, I am quick to moan to God about all of my problems. In contrast, I am slow to sit and simply listen to Him.

When I finally tuned in to what He was saying, I really felt that He was reminding me of who I am.

Though He has called me to write; I am not a writer. “Writer” is not my identity.

Being a child of God is my identity. Being God’s daughter. Being connected to all that He is.

I felt that God was telling me: if I wrote absolutely nothing today, I was still His and I still mattered.

I still had an enormous amount of value, because I am His.

You too are precious. And you won’t find identity in blogging, reporting, acting, running, parenting, accounting, selling… or any other professional role you may have.

You will find your identity in Christ. Being His.

I know I’ve talked a lot about Disney films in this blog series! But… I watched Disney’s Frozen II last night!

In Frozen II, there is a scene that shows main character – Elsa – running towards a glacier of ice, which contains truth about her past. As she approaches the truth, she is filled with anticipation. Finally arriving, surrounded by a glacier-house, she freely sings: “I AM FOUND!”

I feel like some of us need to drop everything and rush towards our true Jesus.

We need not too busy ourselves, trying to build our own lives. Instead, we need to close our eyes, shut off the external and focus on the truth of His presence. Surrounded by Him; we are found.

In fact, we won’t find our identity anywhere else, but in Jesus.

If you haven’t been quick to listen, you may feel a sense of guilt. As if, you can’t just stop and drop in to the presence of God. This might be hard for you.

But I want to break down those lies that say you can’t come to Him. I want to assure you that God is good.

God is love and the bible says about love:

“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.” 

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, NIV.

If you read the above out loud and replace the word ‘love’ with ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’, you will become aware of how wonderful, merciful and gracious He is.

He is waiting for you to rush towards Him. He is waiting for you to quickly turn away from everything else, and listen to Him.

He has something good to tell you.

He loves you.

Action Points:

• Set a timer for 3 minutes and be still in God’s presence. Maybe repeat Psalm 46:10 in your mind to focus.
• Read Corinthians 13: 4-8 out loud, perhaps replacing the word ‘love’ with ‘God.’ Remind yourself of how good God is. No matter how much of a mess you think your life is, He still loves you. He still wants to quiet your heart and remind you whose you are.