“Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while”, so said Jesus to His disciples in Mark 6:31. Throughout Scripture the theme of solitude, rest and also spending time in God’s presence without distraction follows an uninterrupted path, all the way from Adam’s walk with God in the cool of the evening, through time in the wilderness for Abraham, Moses, the Israelites, David and Paul, to name but a few.
What you might have been
Dear Friends
As you prepare for the weekend I would like to challenge you with one of George Eliot’s most inspiring quotes:
“It is never too late to become what you might have been”
This thought holds both a tremendous promise of embracing what you were created for, but also a sobering reminder that, in the end, it may come down to “might have been”. The world’s best coach has frequently reminded me that, if you want to unearth the greatest human potential, go dig in your nearest graveyard. There lie many “might have been” lives. But…this is not meant to be your story, or mine.
Just one second…
Frank Laubach and his wife went to the Philippine Islands as missionaries during 1915. After more than a decade of hard work, having lost 3 of his 4 children to Malaria and now being isolated from his wife and remaining child, this American minister in a foreign country was at an all time low. He sensed profound dissatisfaction in his walk with God and felt, in his words, “disgusted with the pettiness and futility of my unled self”. In a series of letters written between 1930 and 1932 we find an amazing account of how Laubach met God in a way that revolutionised his life.
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Welcome to Lightseeker
Dear Friends
The whisperings of revolution are everywhere–the desire for a deep and true intimacy with God, surpassing the formulas and programmes of our past. You and I have shared this yearning at some stage. Maybe we are old friends who regularly meet around a cup-o-something, or perhaps we had a fleeting conversation on an aeroplane where we stirred and encouraged each other to seek Him with all our heart. With this desire uniting us, I have taken the liberty to subscribe you to the Lightseeker newsletter/online discussion.
At least once every week you will receive a post right in your Inbox, themed around our relationship with God and each other. As much as I enjoy reading online devotionals, I did not want to write another one, but rather create a conversation with more meaning. Even as I compose this very first announcement there is a sense that He wants to draw us into the mystery, Christ in us. Away from our set principles, and into the beautiful simplicity of a childlike walk with Him. It is my dream that we will shift radically in the days and moments that lie ahead, and that this discussion would play some part in the revolution.
Whilst technology can never substitute true relationship, I want to encourage you, in the weeks to come, to share your thoughts with us by clicking through and commenting online. Your contribution is a vital part of the story Father is writing through our lives–it has the power to move and inspire us.
So, whether you call it practising the presence, a conversational walk with God or passionate abandonment to Him alone, this discussion is for you, fellow seeker. May He speak to your heart, and may you in turn encourage us by sharing your story.
Till next week, when the first “official” newsletter will be coming your way.
Glory to Him
WS