Engage in His Presence: First Station of the Cross

Chaos takes up so much space inside, making the creativity within difficult to see and express. Engage in His Presence and step out of the chaos.

Be still and Engage in His Presence

Creative, Artist, and Friend, no matter what your genre is, can your mind ever be at rest? Are you always thinking toward the next art show, toward that book proposal, or how to finish the many other items cluttering the docket? As you go to your email, do you see multiple messages staring back? Do you ever consider to just: Be Still and Engage in His Presence?

Your creative mind is a blessed gift from God. In fact, He gave you the desire to to express in a unique way. You have a type of push/pull moving inside that only finds peace after a physical piece has been developed and expressed, but at times, that inner piece is not always tame. It may lack direction. Chaos takes up so much space inside, making the creativity within difficult to see and express. Engage in His Presence and step out of the chaos.

You need a break

This is when the creative needs to take a break for silence and solitude to seek God and engage in His presence for direction. Even though the piece you work on is not a faith-based item, because you are a faith based writer, starting out in His presence will guide your work. 

“How can I take a break? I have too much going on right now!” 

This is a very good question, but my friend, we are not made to be a Lone Ranger; meant to sit on the mountaintop and create on our own. Yet, neither are we meant to constantly keep going fast and furiously with no regard to the spiritual need for our writing and life.  

To stop, take this break, and engage is a conscious choice that, for many, does not come naturally.

This quote from Invitation to Solitude and Silence expresses God’s heart to connect with our heart. 

“It’s not that the mind is bad; it’s just very limited in its capacity to move us toward the union with God that we seek. The intellect can set the stage but cannot provide the drama of true encounter. Our experience with relationships tells us this: thinking about someone is not the same thing as being in their presence.“ (p. 71) It is necessary to be still and welcome God into your work as a co-laborer with Him while you create.

Making Space to Engage in His Presence

Because Lent is a special time for fasting and abstinence, use this time to reveal and deal with the aforementioned chaos. Recognize the freedom available to engage with God and experience His love for you, instead of bemoaning the activities or treats you can’t enjoy. 

Stations of the Cross Written for Our Time. First Station:

Jesus was captured at night, taken away by soldiers, stripped of his garments, interrogated, tortured, crowned with sharp thorns and now handed over to be condemned to death by Pontius Pilate – death on a cross. 

We may read and know information about that time, but are you willing to step into it with Jesus? Jesus did not fight back. Are you able to be with Him as He is barely able to stand, receiving cruel, unjust accusations? Do you see the blood dripping from long spiky thorns poking into His gentle head? Then, slowly, Jesus turns and looks at you with love.

Express your experience

Take the devotion and read it over again, slowly. Do not move or write, but rather be still and receive, engage in His presence. Is there a deeper space wanting to express?

  

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Devotion written by Ken Cooke

Check out this post for a deeper engagement with the One who Loves you so much. https://sandiaackerman.com/slow-down-to-handle-your-wounds-during-lent/ It was written during Lent last year.