The Park Bench

 This is my first foray into blogging in several years.  For many years I wrote political blogs and finally realized that it was simply causing me misery and anger.  That is not who I am, and more importantly, that is not who I was created to be.  Let me be perfectly clear here, I am not a perfect Christian.  But I am and always try to be open and receptive to the moving of the Holy Spirit.  This is where this blog now stems from.  I felt the overwhelming draw to get back to writing, which has always been my stress relief and way of pouring out my thoughts (except for all of the political junk).  Below is my very first blogpost under this new endeavor.  I am still trying to discern if it should move into a podcast of some sort, but as of now that isn't clear.  In my writings, I hope that you see and read less of me and more of Him.  If not, then I am not doing something right.  This "lesson" is one I gave at church one Sunday morning after being convicted over the lesson days earlier.  There will be more to come, I hope that all make you think differently, see our God differently than ever before, and maybe grow closer to Him.  

The Park Bench

 

One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump.  Probably all of you have seen the movie.  It is a movie of present time and flashbacks, with the flashbacks occurring as Forrest sits on a park bench telling his incredible story to other strangers that happen to take a seat on the bench.  The line “Mama always said that life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get”.  How true is that statement?  I am not a big sweet eater, but I can remember those boxes of Whitman’s Sampler chocolates.  You would get one, pop it in your mouth and if you were lucky, it would be heaven in your mouth.  Sometimes you weren’t so lucky and you got one that you have no idea who in their right mind would eat that!  That bite and the awful taste of cherry and goo hit your mouth or dark chocolate and orange cream?  When you finally figured out that there was a little chocolate “map” in the top of the box that would tell you what each flavor was, then you could safely navigate through the Whitman’s minefield and get only the pieces that you liked.   But our story this morning isn’t about chocolates, or even Forrest Gump.  It is actually about the park bench. 

 

What I want you to think about again, is that bench.  Forrest sits there and recollects his entire life, the highs and lows to whoever happens to be sitting there with him at the moment.  In short, Forrest pours out his heart to the other person on the bench.  I want each of you to close your eyes for a moment.  I want you to imagine yourself sitting on a park bench.  You hear the birds chirping.  The gentle drone of cars nearby.  In the distance you can hear the laughter and squeals of children playing on the playground.  The sun is warm against your skin and there is a gentle breeze blowing.  Now imagine that God is sitting right there beside you.  As you sit together, taking it all in, all of your senses alive He looks at you and smiles and asks “What’s on your mind?”  What would you say?  Would you say I just don’t understand our world any longer?  Would you say Father, I’m broken and I need you?  Would you simply say I’m sorry?  Sorry for the way I have been living my life.  Sorry for not doing what I know you have asked me to do.  What would you say?  How would you respond to the Holy One’s question? 

 

Would you share with Him your hopes?  What are your hopes?  What are your dreams?  Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Again, what are you hoping for today? 

 

 

Would you thank Him?  Would you honor him?  Would you say, God with everything that I am I wish to honor you.  Show me how to live a life that is in line with your character.  Teach me how to live a life that brings you glory.  You are worthy of all of my praise, attention, love and affection.  Ephesians 3:20-21 says Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be Glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, amen.  Would you spend some time thanking God for who He is?  Would you thank Him for what He has done in your life? 

 

Tragically I think we can all agree that there are some that would be so deep in their own thoughts, or phones that they might just miss the presence and opportunity of the One who spoke it all into existence. 

 

Would we spend most of our time there on that bench with God, doing all of the talking?  James tells us in James 1:19 that we need to be quick to listen, slow to speak.  How many of you would pour your heart out and then just listen? 

How many of us would be silently worried about the day starting to slip away from us?  We have so much to get done.  Worried to the point that we begin to listen to Him less and less and allow our worries and thoughts to cloud our minds. 

 

How many of us, if we were walking through the park and saw God sitting alone on the park bench would avoid eye contact?  Turn and walk the other way to avoid those conversations?  Now I will admit, I understand if you saw ol Forrest sitting there in his suit that you might turn away.  I on the other hand, might just take a seat and see what he will talk about.  So, why do we need to spend time sitting with God on that park bench?

 

As Christians, we know we are supposed to start our day off with God.  If you have been a believer for any amount of time, you likely have been encouraged by someone to spend time every morning in God’s presence.  However, many of us have never been told why God wants us to spend time with him in the morning.  We’ve never discovered all God longs to do in the first moments of our day.  We just carry the weight of knowing that we should be spending time with Him.  Did you know that God longs for your days to begin with the absolute best thing?  You know what the absolute best thing is?  His presence. 

 

Take a look at your life.  How often do you spend time with God?  This isn’t a report card where the ones that spend the most time with Him get a gold star.  Be real with yourself.  This is for your benefit.  Take a moment and assess how often you actually spend time meeting with God. 

 

Just like sitting there on that park bench, we will only ever consistently do that which we want to do, especially with our free time.  We might have to go to work.  We might feel obligated to people or practices.  But with our personal time, our wants will always win out over our obligations.  If you’ve ever tried to spend time alone with God out of obligation you know you will hardly ever do it.  Until you experience the love and peace inherent in God’s presence then you will never desire it. 

 

Psalm 16:11 says You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 84:1-2 tells us How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Wherever you are in relation to God today, do you want to know Him more?  Do you want a deeper revelation of His goodness and love?  Take time to open your heart to God and allow Him to satisfy your eternal need for communion with the Father.  Allow Him to fill you with His presence that you might experience the reality of His love.  And let a true, transformative encounter with the living God fill you with a greater hunger to consistently encounter God in the first moments of the day.  Take a seat on the park bench with Him and bathe in His presence. 

 

We have talked about the importance of time alone with God.  Now, how do we do that?  I mean, is it more than just being alone with Him?  Not necessarily.  Sometimes, just being alone with Him and pouring out our hearts is what we need.  We’ve all probably been there.  But what are some other ways that I can spend time in His presence?

 

 

1 Take some time to receive God’s presence and meditate on the truth of scripture.  Allow God to reveal the reality of His nearness.  Psalm 31:19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!   Psalm 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

 

2 Assess your own heart.  How consistently do you spend time with God?  Do you feel like spending time with Him is in any way an obligation?  Be honest with yourself.  More importantly, be honest with God!  He longs to pour out His limitless grace over anything that is holding you back from experiencing the fullness of His love. 

3 Ask God to reveal His desire to meet with you.  Ask Him how he feels about you.  Ask Him to reveal the desires of your heart that He longs to satisfy in spending time alone with Him.

Before you go to bed tonight, take a minute to get in God’s presence.  Let His goodness be the last thing that you think of before you go to sleep and the first thing you wake up to in the morning.  Throughout your day, if you begin to feel down, passionless, or weary, take a minute to reflect on the goodness of God.  He longs to spend time with you throughout your day, filling you with joy, passion and purpose for bringing His kingdom to earth in all that you do. 

 

Life is truly like a box of chocolates.  Some times are sweet, some are bitter with our tears, some are just simply horrible, like dark chocolate or chocolate and cherry.  But He longs to sit there on that park bench with us, as we taste each precious day, and guide us through it.  Will you let Him?  Will you simply sit with Him in his presence?