Production

Texts:
- Psalms 69-72
- Mark 14-16
- Nehemiah 1-5

Jesus Christ, my Lord, I am overcome this weekend with a sense of reaction. I know that You have laid much before me, and my hands want to be at that work every minute, every second. It is leading me into a sense of overwhelming stress. I don't know how You can work, it is so obvious that You are beyond humanity. I watched an Easter play last night that covered most of Your ministry, and I noticed how many times You sought refuge, a quiet place, and how many times that plan was ruined.

I seem to be experiencing the same things. I seek refuge in Your word or Your presence, and suddenly its time to go somewhere. I seek to simply rest, and other thoughts and problems crowd my mind. I try to concentrate on the tasks set before me, now that I have time to concentrate on them, and my heart constricts within my chest to a burning ache. Then I let it go and do nothing of consequence and feel terrible about it. I guess that I am feeling like I always must be producing.

What do You have to say about production? Obviously Your friends and You took time to feast, but You always had an eye out for others, for serving, for their interuption. Where has our American culture of materialism, production, and worth blotted the truth from my eyes as far as working is concerned? There is obviously stuff to be done, thoughts to think, sermons to write, preparations to prepare, and on and on. I look only to You to help me sort all of this out.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Your resurrection. Help me to celebrate. Help me to feel. Lend me a true emotion about the morning that has generally passed without significance for 25 years of my life. Let me escape my thoughts and troubles, my work and my play, my stress and my distraction, and simply wonder, if only for several seconds, at the joy and the pain that is evident in my Savior.