Month: May 2020

The following exercise is intended as a companion to the message “Inside/Out: Patterns We Experience When God Transforms Us – Part 2” preached by Pastor Rick Schupp on May 17, 2020. You can listen to that message here.

Find a quiet place, free from distractions. If silence and solitude is new to you, set a timer for five or ten minutes. This allows you to forget the time and settle into the quiet.

Take two or three deep breaths and place yourself in the presence of God. You might pray, “I’m here Lord” or something like that, God is already here, but it helps us center our thoughts on his presence.

As you seek to be quiet, you may hear voices, traffic, your breath, wind, distracting thoughts. Seek to let the noise go and the silence to deepen. Be with God.

If it helps, have a pad of paper next to you and jot down a word or two when a thought comes so you can let it go and come back to it later.

When the time is up, reflect on the time. What was it like for you to become still enough to hear the background noise? What feelings did you experience during the time of quiet? Why do you think?

Silence and solitude is the kind of exercise that becomes easier over time. It’s also the kind of practice that we will not usually see immediate benefits from; but if we persist, the fruit will make itself visible in time.

The following exercise is intended as a companion to the message “Inside/Out: Patterns We Experience When God Transforms Us – Part 1” preached by Pastor Rick Schupp. You can listen to the message here. The exercise has been adapted from the book Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.

Find a quiet place and sit in a comfortable position – but one that allows you to stay alert!

Take a few deep breaths to help relax and release any tension.

Seek to be aware of God’s presence – which is closer than your breath.

When you are ready, imagine you are in the historical setting of Bartimaeus’ story (in Mark 10:46-52) or Elijah’s story (in 1 Kings 19:1-18) or you are in your own place of need. Read the story you’ve chosen slowly.

Mark 10:46-52 – See yourself as the person needing something from Jesus and calling out to him from the noisy crowd. How do you approach him? What do you do to get his attention? What do you say? What emotions do you feel?

Imagine that in response to your cry, Jesus turns to you. He looks you in the eyes and you are now face to face with each other. Allow yourself to realize you have Jesus’ complete attention (because you do!) and hear him speak to you, “What do you want me to do for you?”

1 Kings 19:1-18 – See yourself in the place of Elijah at the cave on Mount Horeb. Imagine the long journey to get to this place. What challenges have you faced? What are you feeling as you finally get to your destination?

Imagine that as you arrive and sit in the mouth of the cave, you sense God’s closeness and feel his presence. It isn’t threatening but comforting. You are in the presence of one who loves you deeply. In the nearness and the quiet, hear God speak to you, “What are you doing here?”

Share what’s in your heart. Don’t be afraid of emotion. It’s important to let yourself feel how deeply your desire goes. You may need to sit with the question and your response for quite some time before you have fully gotten in touch with your heart’s desire or have fully expressed it. Give the question and its answer all the time it needs. You may want to go for a walk with the question, lie in the grass and feel the warmth of the sun, curl up under a blanket, journal your response, engage in writing or artistic expression.

If you choose to journal, it might help to begin with the statement, “God, what I most need/want from you right now is…” and then let your thoughts flow.

When you have expressed your desire, take time to listen for Jesus’ response.  Don’t feel you have to do anything. Enjoy the intimacy and richness that come when we are able to “be with what is” in God’s presence.