“Being alone in the Word makes us better when we are together.”
Ever have a bad day? When everything just seems to be a little out of sync? While driving every light is red? You arrive at the bus stop just as your bus is pulling away? The boss just happens to have an even more urgent case, when you’re already at your wit’s end? When the plans you had for dinner have all turned sour? It’s times like that when everything just seems a little … off.
A friend of mine once asked, “how do I find balance in my life? Like what do I need to do?”
I said, “well, maybe you should read your Bible.”
And the response was, “okay, yeah, like after that. Like you know, practical things.”
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It’s funny, because when our lives our out of order, when our relationships all seem a bit wonky, when life just seems to be a little out of control, the last bit of advice we want from someone is to pray and read the Bible. Because those two things seem to be irrelevant to the issue at hand.
But what if praying and reading the Bible were exactly the two things you needed to start doing to have everything else come into place. What if spending time with God first let him put everything else in order?
Bonhoeffer writes,
The silence before the Word, however, will have an impact on the whole day. If we have learned to be silent before the Word, we will also learn to manage our silence and our speech during the day… Silence before the Word leads to proper hearing and thus also to proper speaking of God’s Word at the right time. Much that is uncessary remains unsaid. But what is essential and helpful can be said in a few words.
It often seems the disorder in our lives is a result of mistimed words, forcing longer explanations, delaying things that need to get done. The rushing and hustle and bustle is a making up of countless previous mini errors or misunderstanding.
I think we choose not to meet with God each day. Because we doubt that He is the answer to our problems. We question his authority. We fear his silence.
In a world where you are king, you call the shots, and your day descends into disorder. In a world where God is King, you serve him, and his order delights your day.
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We’ve been going through this series on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together. It’s a look at Christian community and some of the things that that might entail. This week Alex talked about the day alone. You can find all our messages as well as the worship at the BCEC Sermon Page or listen to the sermon directly – The Day Alone.