Disappear

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by advice? Solutions? Potential “cures” or “3 step” ideas that will make you feel better, look better, improve your relationships, make your future easier or solve your problems?

I am constantly seeking to self educate myself in multiple areas from nutrition to painting to my finances.  I am always reading books, devouring daily blogs, chatting with friends and swapping ideas.  While I believe it is important to push yourself towards achieving more and it’s always beneficial to have the urge to learn more, sometimes I find myself feeling overwhelmed.  When I feel this way, I can almost always trace it back to one area of my life that is lacking: alone time with God.  Lack of stillness.  With all the voices and written knowledge out there it is tempting to overindulge and begin taking other human’s opinions as truth.  I recently found myself asking, “Who am I listening to?”  On the days I feel overwhelmed that answer is usually “others” and not the right answer: God.

On my run this morning, Bebo Norman’s song “Disappear” shuffled through.  Let me share an excerpt of the lyrics with you:

On a day like this
I want to crawl beneath a rock
A million miles from the world
The commotion that never seems to stop

And on a day like this
I want to run from the routine
Run away from the daily grind
That can suck the life right out of me

I only know of one place I can run to…

CHORUS:
I want to hide in You
The way, the life, the truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And you become clear
As I disappear 

I don't want to care about earthly things
Be caught up in all the lies
That trick my eyes
They say it's all about me

I'm so tired of it being about me… 

I want to hide in You
The way, the life, the truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And you become clear
As I disappear 

So what can you deduce from this?  That I wish I could just climb under a rock and live?  Exactly the opposite.  Although some days we all feel tired and cranky and too into our routines, Jesus offers a respite from these feelings!  When we invest time each day in our relationship with Him (just as we would with a friend, spouse or child) we are rejuvenated and able to enter into a world that tells us, every day, a thousand times a day, the lie “It’s all about you” without being completely swept away by others’ opinions and ideas. 

This morning I almost came to a dead halt on my run as I heard the line “I’m so tired of it being about me.”  “YES!” I thought, “I am tired of obsessively running potential scenarios about my life through my head.  I’m tired of thinking of myself first.  I’m tired of barely remembering to pray when I feel sad or upset.”

So what’s the solution?  I want someone to give me a 5 step plan where I can accomplish each point and neatly check them off my list.  It doesn’t work like that though.  In some ways, it’s easier: it’s a one step plan.  In some ways, it’s harder: the one step involves being still and carving time out of your daily (often jam packed) schedule to read the Bible and pray. 

So here’s to a fall season and future where we invest in our relationship with Jesus first and foremost, where we put others before our own desires and wishes and where our daily lives and action magnify the joy and refreshment we feel as we “disappear” into His truth and unconditional love.