How many of us advocate (use?) the philosophy of ‘stop’? Whether the stop is directed at thinking first or smelling the roses. Do we? Or don’t we follow it until we are basically forced to? In case you don’t see it, my hand is raised. It really is so foolish of us because what are we doing / prioritizing / thinking is more important? Bottom line – are we placing our ‘what’s best’, not good or better, but BEST? Are we opting for convenient or expedited? What’s the exchange? Is it truly worth the price?
You have no choice is an unacceptable response. Of course you have a choice – we all do on some level. Sometimes I believe it isn’t the problem that we have a choice, but that it isn’t our favorite or preferred. We want something… grander?… ‘better’ (undefined)?,… ‘different’ (undefined)?… Whatever it is that we have (something) available, we’d rather go without? To me, that’s akin to cutting one’s nose off to save our face – totally foolish (and yes, I’ve done that too). But being foolish once is no cause to rejoice and we can change in our future.
Simultaneously… we do advocate, if not practice, the ‘stop’ philosophy. But, what and how does scripture talk about stopping? Examples:
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for our work will be rewarded.” (2 Chronicles 15:7)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
(1 Corinthians 8:24) [Note: ‘run’ is not necessarily defined as a physical exertion.]
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
These few verses speak to a vast majority of the issues we as Christians face that keep us from… stopping. We can do this. The prize we receive when we do far outweighs our speculative cost. I would argue that we all need to practice the art of stopping in order to move forward more effectively. … then again, I may be only talking to myself.
