How to Move Toward Communing with Four Distinct Steps
I’ve become more aware lately of how focused I am on me. Know what I mean? I am constantly looking for ways to make my day smoother, my tasks accomplished faster and with less stress, as well as increased moments of relaxation and whimsy.
The Holy Spirit has been prodding me to shift my point of view. He is prompting me to be concerned with pleasing Him alone. God is reminding me He is my Audience of One. He generously builds on lessons He has taught me over the last several months.
Lessons I’ve Been Learning
I wrote a series of blogs after Mother’s Day that all dealt with communing. I talked about releasing, relying, and rejoicing. The Holy Spirit continually reminds me I must practice, and practice some more, those three elements so I have a better ongoing conversation and relationship with the Father.
God’s Spirit graciously advises me often to pause and pray. I honestly don’t remember what first inspired the phrase “pause and pray” in my mind, but the Spirit whispers it to me on a regular basis.
I recently reviewed some notes I made on Matthew 26:26-29 while these other thoughts ruminated in my mind. In Matthew 26, Jesus is instituting the Lord’s Supper and He does four distinct things. I discovered the four things Jesus does help me practice the idea of pause and pray. Consequently, as I pause and pray, God’s Spirit encourages me to practice the three elements of communing: release, rely, and rejoice.
Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper
“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take and eat it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’”
Matthew 26:e26-29 CSB
Pause
Did you notice they were all doing something else? They were eating! They weren’t participating in a specific “let’s learn a new lesson” time. While they were going about their daily lives, Jesus asked them to pause.
Think about it. In the middle of our work shift, the Spirit interrupts what we are doing, thinking, and/or saying with a new thought or fresh perspective. While we are doing chores at home or relaxing with family or friends, the Spirit nudges us to step back and reflect on our choices or attitude. That’s how communing with God works. We interact and communicate with Him while we are living our everyday lives, accomplishing our daily or weekly tasks.
Focus on Christ
In the Matthew passage, when Jesus interrupted what they were all doing and encouraged them to pause, He challenged them to focus on Him. Jesus drew all eyes and attention to who He was and what He was prepared to give them. In those holy moments, Jesus revealed how He was going to give His body and His very life for all those He loved so deeply.
When we pause, we too must intentionally turn our focus to Christ. We must see Him and recognize His love and grace. Perhaps we need to see Him in someone we are interacting with because we are becoming irritated and judgmental. We may need to open our eyes to how Jesus is moving and providing in our particular circumstance. Or Jesus may have grace and wisdom to share with us in that particular moment and we would miss it if we didn’t pause and seek Him.
Be Grateful
Next, Jesus provides a wonderful lifestyle habit as He gives thanks for both the bread and the wine. Christ knew what was before Him; He was aware of the upcoming betrayal, the excruciating pain, and the weight of the sin that He was going to bear. He believed it was all worth it. And so, before any of it ever happened, He expressed His gratitude to God for providing what was needed in HIs sovereignty, love, power, and grace.
We must learn to be as grateful as Christ. Regardless of the circumstance we have paused, we must learn the grace of gratitude. We are to be grateful for the people we are experiencing life with in that moment. We are to be grateful for however God is choosing to provide in that moment. We are to be grateful for His presence, His power, His love, and His sovereignty, even if that moment is not what we would have ever chosen.
The Science of Gratitude
I was scrolling social media the other day and a reel grabbed my attention. The person stated there was science that proves our brain can’t respond to anxiety and gratefulness at the same time. I googled it; there is science that claims such a fact! That’s amazing! (Check out these articles: Gratitude and Anxiety: To Be Less Anxious, Be More Grateful and Gratitude and Anxiety Cannot Coexist.
God knows the wonder of our minds. He is very aware of how we get wrapped up in our negative emotions and then discover we are trapped in them. Jesus modeled a lifestyle of gratitude, and without ever giving a science lesson, revealed the best way for us to live and be able to commune with the Father.
Keep a Holy Perspective
The final thing Jesus does in the Matthew passage is He keeps a Holy Perspective. Jesus caused the disciples to pause what they were doing so they could see Him, be grateful (even though awful days were ahead) and look at all things from the vantage point of God’s overwhelming love and grace.
This life isn’t all about our comfort or ease. Life isn’t about me or you; life is all about God. In God’s love, He makes life all about restoring our lost relationship with Him because of sin. We focus on Him, and He graciously pours Himself all over us.
A Personal Story
Allow me to bring all these various ideas together through a personal story. The other day at work, I had a small encounter with another employee. I often work in the same department and have become the local expert on where things go. I admit I like my area to be organized and easily shoppable for our customers. Consequently, I often ask newer employees if they know the flow, or if they are aware of the organizational parameters in our section.
Another employee was putting items out in the same aisle where I was working. I turned and asked if she knew there was a flow, or a specific order items where to placed in that area. I didn’t think my tone was condescending, nor did I perceive I was being bossy. However, she did not take my question well. She informed me she knew, and promptly walked away to work someplace else in the store.
Living out Jesus’ Four Distinct Behaviors
Jesus prompted me to pause and pray, because my initial reaction was to be snippy and affirm to myself, I was in the right. God’s Holy Spirit led me to see Him in her. She was a person created in the image of God. She was doing her job and she was working diligently. I was to treat her as Jesus would treat her, love her as Christ would love her, regardless of my human response.
God reminded me to be grateful. She didn’t unload on me whatever she was feeling and experiencing. Nor had she created a mess I would feel obligated to reorganize.
The Spirit then led me to consider a holy perspective by seeing through His viewpoint of love and grace. I am unsure of what I did, but I didn’t mean to hurt or annoy her in any way. God revealed I needed to release control and trust others I worked with first, and then, if necessary, offer training. Love and grace demand everyone doesn’t do things only in the way I would do them.
From Pausing to Communing
Jesus enabled me to pause, see Him, be grateful and gain a holy perspective. As God and I journeyed through the four steps, in a short amount of time, I found myself communing with Him. He was enabling me to release my pettiness, rely on His wisdom and rejoice in the truth that He loves me.
God is calling us to experience His sacrifice for us in the middle of our everyday life. We receive the sacrament of communion on Sundays as we worship with the family of God. But Jesus asks us to live and breathe what He did for us. He calls us to first pause. Second, to see Him and focus on who He is. Third, we are to be grateful. And finally, we are to keep a holy perspective and see situations and people through His love and grace.
The Spirit is leading us to commune with the Holy Trinity. He offers us the opportunity to live the life God created us to live when He created all living things. The best life is found in relationship with Jesus Christ, our Holy Audience of One.
