June 18th, 2020: Simplicity

 The Search for Simplicity — Ian Symmonds & Associates

I woke up this morning and was thinking about these verses from Ecclesiastes;
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"

I have been thinking a lot about different seasons of life and ask the question of what season I am in at this present moment. After more than 30 years of being involved in various aspects of services for the church and her mission, for different businesses and people in my ministry, it is not a bad idea to consider such a question.

It is time for simplicity. I have learned that embracing simplicity has helped me remain stable in dealing with the complexity of time. Simplicity is a needed antidote for a stressful life. My definition of simplicity is not longing for things that don't have any potential to create peace and rest. Simplicity has a lot to do with becoming more and more of what God has intended for us. It is about being free from the distraction of jealousy and envy.

It is time for letting go. Letting go of the fear of people and people's opinions about who we are. Letting go of the desire to control others and all of the circumstances of our life. What we learned during the emergency shutdown due to Covid-19 is we have very little control over our lives at times. Letting go sometimes is the first step of our journey with God. It is about walking away from all that has consumed us so that the love of God consumes us.

It is time to be outrageous. Let us be outrageous in our act of compassion and charity. Let us care for our family and many others outrageously. Let us be outrageous in fighting against fear of love and anguish of not being loved. We will discover the greatness of God when we learn that God is outrageous in how he deals with us. That is why Jesus entered the world in human flesh.

It is time to be still because the world is in chaos in many ways. The stillness of heart will give us the courage to dig deeper into what it means to love so that we can go further in loving people. The stillness of our soul will grant us the opportunity to be in God's presence more fully. The stillness of our mind will help us appreciate the mystery of God. In our stillness, we will see the immense revelation of God's power.

! Timothy 6: 6-8
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."

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