Walking with Jesus this Summer

Written by James Paton, Lead Pastor 

Of all the temptations that may come your way in the next few weeks, none may perhaps be greater than the temptation to take a vacation from faith; to put God on hold, telling Him I’ll get back to You in the fall. I’m not talking about being away from church because you’ve gone camping – I’m talking about the dangerous temptation to ignore God completely and check out from faith for 2 months. 

We read in Psalm 74:17 that God made the summer. What if summer could be filled with fun and faith? What if it could be physically and mentally refreshing and spiritually renewing? What if you could long for it to never end, rather than desperately praying for school to start back up? What if, instead of a vacation from faith, you decided to journey into the summer with Jesus? What does He want to teach you? What does He want to do through you? 

In the book of Zechariah, God’s people lived in the Promised Land. But things had changed. Wars had been fought and lost. An occupying army had taken control, and ethnic cleaning was taking place. There were huge people movements, as well as collateral damage. Families were broken up, and cities destroyed. And in the middle of this mess, Zechariah the prophet steps up with a vision from God that stood in stark contrast to the reality of the people who had endured so much.  

““Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” (Zechariah 8:2–5, NRSVue)  

Where people saw desolation, God saw restoration. Right there in a ruined city, full of hopeless and helpless people, the prophet talks about joy, satisfaction, and contentment. He’s talking to people who are figuring out how to survive. How to survive the challenges of life. Figuring out how faith can survive. This process begins when we choose to cultivate the presence of God in our lives. 

Zechariah begins his message by reminding the people about the presence of God in their lives and in their ruined city. In verse 3 we can see this promise: God will return. Their hope, their future, their survival was all based upon this one thing ... the presence of God in their lives. It had nothing to do with building up new national defences or getting the kids into day camp all summer long. It was all about God’s presence in their lives. 

One of the names given to Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God with us. His presence is always with us! That’s why he reminded His followers, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NRSVue) But the reality is that often we don’t sense God’s presence. There are times when it feels as though He’s far away. If we are honest, there are times when we ask, ‘Where are you, God??’  

Jesus’ followers had hoped that He was the Messiah, the one who would deliver them from Rome and bring God’s rule to their land. But then He was crucified. Dead and buried. It seemed to them that God was nowhere to be found. There was no one to answer their questions either. Life seemed completely hopeless. 

And yet, God was present, but they didn’t know it until a few days later when Jesus rose from the dead. God was there, on the cross, but they couldn’t see clearly. Obscure perhaps, and hidden from view, but present all the same. Jesus is God. He was right there, they were just unaware. 

Just after Jesus rose from the dead, he met some of his followers who were overcome with grief and had no sense of God’s presence in their life. They walked together, talked about many things, and eventually had supper. Only at that point “ … their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.” (Luke 24:31, NRSVue)  

Whether you recognise it or not, God’s presence is always with us, even when we sense it least. God wants to be your travelling companion this summer. The great news is that God has given us ways we can cultivate this sense of His presence in our lives: “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3, NRSVue)   

But what better thing could we ask God for than the assurance of His presence in our lives? There is an old prayer that touches my heart deeply called Collect for Purity. This prayer causes us to examine our own lives and helps open us up to God’s presence, and invite Him to become deeply involved in the day-to-day: 

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, though Christ our Lord. Amen.  

What a great prayer for each of us to learn this summer, and to pray daily as we seek to cultivate the sense of God’s presence in our lives. Tragically, a lot of us merely tolerate most of life. We endure the ordinary and the everyday. We hope for relief from the humdrum of life. Things like work, eating, commuting, and recreation. For most of us, these are not often considered ‘spiritual’ happenings. They are just the things we do because we are people. 

One of the mundane things I used to enjoy the least was washing dishes. I’ve always thought of paper plates and plastic forks as a God-send. (Besides, liquid soap irritates my sensitive skin!) But somehow, in the negotiation of chores around our house, the lot fell on me – dishes – for all eternity! My wife is an amazing person and able to read people very well. She could tell I wasn’t happy. So, she found a way forward. I came home one evening, and found a verse, beautifully written out and placed above the kitchen sink:  

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17, NRSVue)  

I got the message. It was a lesson I needed to learn! Maybe we all could. Work, play, mowing the lawn, packing the van, going on vacation, answering the question, ‘Are we there yet?’ for the 1,000^th time – do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. I’d like to challenge us to memorize this verse. Make some little cards to place in significant locations around the home, and let’s remind ourselves of God’s presence, even in the ordinary things. 

The Bible has surprisingly little to say about play. Yet Zechariah 8:5 (NRSVue) offers this image: “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” It is a vision of peace and restoration. A city once marked by ruin and devastation becomes a place where life is ordinary again, where the streets are safe, and where children are free to play outside. 

Scripture seems to assume that people naturally seek enjoyment in life. The Bible says little about play for the same reason it says little about tying our shoes or combing our hair: God knows we are not entirely without sense. Even so, He calls us to rest. His pattern is six days of work and one day devoted to rest, relaxation, play, contemplation, and worship. This is the Sabbath. One author described it as “a royal waste of time,” meaning time intentionally set aside to be completely unproductive. 

How unlike our lives. Life seems like an insane frenzy of activity. Hockey, soccer, baseball, swimming, homework, piano, ballet, work .... Little time remains for simple play or for rest and reflection.  

God did not create us to be in an exhausting state of perpetual motion. That is why he commanded that we take a Sabbath. When was the last time you gave yourself the gift of time? When was the last time you just pointlessly spent some time playing? When did you last take a whole day just to do nothing? What if we practiced Sabbath this summer? 

Let’s enjoy our summer, becoming more aware of God’s presence as we play and pray, in the ordinary chores and as we purposefully rest. 

-Written by James Paton, Lead Pastor

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You might be interested in ... 

1. Joining FAC Online on-the-go this summer. 

2. Try going on a community prayer walk! Stroll through your neighbourhood and pray as you feel led for your neighbours, schools, and businesses in the area. Ask Jesus, “How can I join you here?” 

3. Summer Events at FAC for ways to stay connected