“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19

I just finished teaching a church staff about healthy spiritual rhythms of pause. They were a delightful group and I felt honored to share some things I had learned on the subject of pause and making space to experience the Lord. The interesting thing is that in endeavoring to give them good information I didn’t necessarily help them pause. It is one of my common issues that I face and continue to have to lay before the Lord. In my efforts to help people I may share too much information, too many ideas and insights. It is a constant struggle for me to not share every thought, idea and insight that I am experiencing and enjoying. I tend to mistakenly believe that having and sharing more information and a wealth of insights makes me more impressive and valuable. My needs for recognition and significance often lead me down this misguided path. So now I am sitting with the discomfort of having tried to further my own glory, more than furthering the glory of God. I know it is a good recognition and needs to be acknowledged with the awareness that my clumsy efforts to represent Him are still met and overshadowed by His love and grace for me and for others.

God, on the other hand, unlike me, offers open space to experience His presence and power. It is His intention to lead me to a spacious place where I am reminded that He delights in me. When Israel left the bondage of Egypt and Pharaoh’s rule, God made it clear that He was moving them from Pharaoh’s hand to a spacious and good land (Exodus 3). In the space of Pharaoh’s hand life was reduced and restricted to producing more with less resources. In the space God would provide, the sustaining resources of God would flow freely. It was space designated for His presence and relationship with His people. In that space there were always people, ideas and agendas that wanted to encroach upon that space. It was always a temptation for Israel to let those encroaching forces become a distracting influence in their lives. To keep the space for what God intended they had to push back those other influences and distractions. They had to keep the space for what God had intended.

Our lives are space that God longs to fill with His presence. He longs to, in the space created, be acknowledged as the center and primary influence of that space. And He intends this for our good as expression of the delight He takes in us. When I fill the space created with my own words, I often miss the chance to hear what the Lord is saying. My own words of insight, instruction, cool ideas and such can become the encroaching distractions that keep me from hearing and responding to the word God speaks. When my words become primary to the conversation, proclamation or message I often will miss God’s words that are truly primary and should be heard above all else. So again I’m reminded to both create and guard the space to listen for God’s voice and His word. I am called to practice listening and know that He has created the space for me to hear His words of love, grace and life. He wants this day to bring you into a spacious place where the distractions have been minimized so that you might hear His voice speaking the words of eternal life to you. Might I suggest practicing silence for a few moments this day to honor the space and allow God to speak? As you do so, may you cherish that space and guard that space so that His word can be heard.