As twenty-first century Christians, we’ll never walk with Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee or hear him preach from a mountaintop. In order to experience his presence, we have to look inside ourselves. He promises to meet us in the depths of our own hearts, whether those depths are quiet or stormy, overflowing with joy or overwhelmed by despair.
In this way, our potential for meeting Jesus and knowing him in a vital, life-transforming way is as great as it was for his original disciples. His words to them also apply to us: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7).
This Sunday, I invite you to explore how closely your vision for your life matches Jesus’ vision for you. This is truly a step-by-step, moment-by-moment process. Our feeling that we are overwhelmed by too much to do is an indication that we have checked out of this process — or perhaps we have never really engaged it to begin with.
In either case, we have allowed our frenzy of things to do, places to go, and people to see to take control of not only our schedules but also our souls. It’s quite possible to multitask your way to a stressed-out, frazzled state that is an existence but not a life. It often happens subtly without our even realizing it. We end up feeling burned out and at our wits end. Trapped in a vicious cycle of our own making, we are clueless about how to escape.
This Sunday, we’ll have the chance to revisit this dilemma and find new solutions in Christ — the source of unseen paths to freedom and new possibilities that flow from the present moment.
With love and anticipation,
Evan Howard,
Minister