It was a slow morning yesterday. I am the Community Care Pastor for a drop-in ministry. This means our goal is that every person off the streets who come through our doors receives pastoral care before they are resourced in some way for what they are asking. Yesterday morning was so slow, I knew I had to stop and have some entanglement time with Abba.
I read a bit of Mark 1, and then I began to pray. My prayer yesterday morning was one of desire. I had a desire to be close to Jesus. I sat in awe that God would even attend to me at all. I prayed, "Let my heart and mind trust you so fully and unbrokenly that I know your closeness to me today. Can you please speak to and touch my heart and let me know you are near?"
Yesterday morning was slow.
But the rest of my day was slammed.
Just before lunch there began a constant flow of people coming through our door, packing our waiting room. Every person was broken, filthy, and in crisis of some sort. For about 4 constant hours, I met with them. I sat with each of them and I prayed with most of them. I went home pretty exhausted.
Later that night, I sat at home and heard in my heart and mind, "How you treated the least of these, you treated Me..." and "the poor will always be with you."
I realized my day was an answer to what I had asked of God. I asked that He be near to me and draw my heart close to Him, and so he filled my day with the broken and the poor. I sat with Jesus all day yesterday, and I prayed with Him sometimes.
I sat with Jesus all day yesterday, but I fear I still missed Him. Can you meet with Jesus in retrospect?
I was not mindful throughout the day that I had been meeting with Jesus and that He was immediately answering my very prayer, but I think there is something to be said of looking back and realizing later, yes, you did sit with Jesus today. Because every time you sit with the broken, filthy, chaotic, and unsettled, you are sitting with Jesus, and "those people" will always be with you.
Sitting with Jesus Yesterday
