One of my favorite authors is Mark Batterson. He wrote “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,” “Wild Goose Chase,” “Circle Makers,” and “If” – just to name a few. I met Mark for the first time while I lived in Memphis. I went on my lunch hour to hear him speak at a church gathering across town, and I remember that day as if it were yesterday.
That day he spoke about living your life in the margins. I really had no understanding of that back then, and there are days now that I still lose the understanding (10+ years after that day). Living in the margins simply means that you have a calendar, you have priorities, you have obligations that have to take up your time – the margins comprise all of the time that isn’t taken up by all of those “important things.” If you say that you do not have margins, then you are in definite need of a schedule realignment. The margins allow you to breathe, to be at peace, to pray, to experience what God has for you, and surely provide some excellent opportunities to receive those little winks that our heavenly Father loves to give us––more often than not!
This week, I was intentional about some margin time. I had an appointment at 9:30am, then lunch at 11:30. I had made an appointment at 2:00pm, but seriously thought about cancelling––simply due to the obligations “inside of the margins.” I pressed through and kept the 2:00 meeting, and boy I am so glad I did! You see, the 2:00 meeting was with a friend I have known for about 17 years. We talk a couple times every 6 weeks or so. I don’t get to see him face to face, but when I do, I always leave refreshed and encouraged. We met at our favorite coffee place and sat there for a time just talking and rehearsing things in life that we are doing and going through. Out of the clear blue, a man that neither of us knew walked up to the table. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “The Lord just laid this on my heart to say this to you…” He then quoted a verse from the Gospel of Luke, right from the mouth of Jesus. I can’t describe to you with words, the nanosecond it took to have crocodile tears in my eyes. The verse that Jesus had laid on his heart to give me, not only was right on, but it was a direct answer to the exact situation that I was telling my friend about––at that exact time! Boy was I amazed how God knew exactly what I needed! My FAITH reservoir was filled to over-flowing! God interrupted the margins, using a stranger, to give me His answer! Ps. 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!”
As author John Parsons explains, (http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Be_Still/be_still.html)
“…this verse is not so much about meditation as it is about the mediation of God’s kingdom in the heart of faith. The command to “be still” comes from the verb “raphe”, which might be translated as, “cause yourselves to let go” or “let yourselves become weak”. But to what end are we to “be still”, “let go”, “Surrender”, and even to “die to ourselves”? In Hebrew grammar, the emphasis of coordinate imperatives (“be still” and “know”) is on the second imperative. In other words, we surrender in order to know that God is in control as the Master of the Universe. We “let go” in order to objectively know the saving power of God in our lives. We give up trusting in ourselves and our own designs in order to experience the glory of God’s all sufficiency. (Ex. 14:14)”
So this week, take some time to get in the margins! Let go, surrender, and let God speak to you in ways that aren’t always allowed with your busy schedule. You never know who He may send to “interrupt” the margins of your day – to let you know that HE LOVES YOU A WHOLE BUNCH!
Ex. 14:14 says, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just be still!”