Everything seems to happen so fast. Things, people, experiences all come into and out of our vision…into and out of our consciousness with the speed of life. It’s hard to process and keep up with what’s going on in this fast paced world.
To complicate things, life really happens on multiple levels. While we have difficulty capturing the one that we actually see, things are happening all around us that we don’t see and of which we are unaware…unless we take the time to examine the life moments and events.
And many times…maybe most of the time…the things happening around us that we do not readily see are the most important ones having the greatest and longest lasting impact.
God certainly knows about and is in control of both the visible and invisible events, powers, influences, and impacts in our lives. (Colossians 1:16) And secular philosophers recognize the importance of a broader vision that examines the ripple effects of our race across our own pool of time. (Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living”)
So, how do we do this? How do we become aware of more than just our immediate visible movement through our world?
Maybe it takes effort. Maybe it requires pausing. Maybe like all our evolution, i.e. sanctification, as Christians, it takes surrender. Surrender to the process of allowing God to work in us to give us more and more of the mind of Christ. Maybe it takes all of these.
Jesus seemed to always be aware that more was going on than what others were experiencing. Like the time in Matthew 9:20-22. It was only the touch of a follower in the crowd. But He saw the faith of a diseased woman, and made her whole.
My prayer: Father, give me the willingness and the ability to surrender my mind and my time to allow the work you can do in me through the presence of Jesus Christ; that I may be more aware, more often, of more of the invisible goings on around me in my walk. Help me to know what’s really going on.
