Years ago when I was the pastor of the Vidalia Church, I went numerous times to nearby Green Bough House of Prayer for spiritual retreats. The director of this place was one of our United Methodist pastors who sensed God's call to this ministry instead of the parish setting. Green Bough was near a town so small it was nothing more than a black dot on the map and tucked away on the edge of everything without any billboards of flashing signs to point to its presence.
I learned new spiritual disciplines on my visits. It provided me my first experience of being silent while still a part of a group. But, the one thing I remember most often is the moment Steve invited us to get up from our chairs and follow him around the room. He led and we followed in a line, one behind the other. At first I was uncomfortable. It seemed ridiculous. And, then I wanted the guy ahead of me to walk faster since I was all but stepping on his heels. But, he could walk no faster than the one in front of him whose slow and deliberate pace was being set by our leader. Finally, after a number of hurried missteps I got in step with the one before me and everyone else as well.
This long ago memory came back as I was reading the latter part of the 5th chapter of Galatians. It is a section in which the Word of God speaks of living by the Spirit. To live by the Spirit, as Paul described it, means being led and guided by the Spirit. To be led and guided by the Spirit is not as easy for most of us as getting up out of the chair and following His lead. We keep wanting to hurry Him up. We keep wanting Him to walk at a pace that suits us. We keep wanting Him to take us to what we have decided are meaningful places instead of what seems to be a walk without a clear destination. Sometimes we go, but not as naturally and easily as we should. Only when we get our ego out of the way can we relax and breathe and go where He is leading and guiding us.
I learned new spiritual disciplines on my visits. It provided me my first experience of being silent while still a part of a group. But, the one thing I remember most often is the moment Steve invited us to get up from our chairs and follow him around the room. He led and we followed in a line, one behind the other. At first I was uncomfortable. It seemed ridiculous. And, then I wanted the guy ahead of me to walk faster since I was all but stepping on his heels. But, he could walk no faster than the one in front of him whose slow and deliberate pace was being set by our leader. Finally, after a number of hurried missteps I got in step with the one before me and everyone else as well.
This long ago memory came back as I was reading the latter part of the 5th chapter of Galatians. It is a section in which the Word of God speaks of living by the Spirit. To live by the Spirit, as Paul described it, means being led and guided by the Spirit. To be led and guided by the Spirit is not as easy for most of us as getting up out of the chair and following His lead. We keep wanting to hurry Him up. We keep wanting Him to walk at a pace that suits us. We keep wanting Him to take us to what we have decided are meaningful places instead of what seems to be a walk without a clear destination. Sometimes we go, but not as naturally and easily as we should. Only when we get our ego out of the way can we relax and breathe and go where He is leading and guiding us.
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