Let's Talk About Nothing

I’d like to take a moment and talk to you about nothing. You’re probably saying to yourself that I normally talk about nothing…but I want you to consider the subject just for a few moments. When was the last time you did nothing? I don’t mean, “Tried to do something and ended up doing nothing.” What I am saying is…when was the last time you took time to do nothing? The next thing you are saying to yourself is…“Ryan, I don’t have time for nothing.” I am doing my best to add nothing to my schedule from time to time (you’re thinking that this is easy for me since I’m a youth minister and nothing is the majority of what I do.)

We live in a world that is constantly improving our electronics…causing life to become more and more hectic. You can check your e-mail and talk on the phone while watching two channels at the same time on the same TV. With each advance in technology life simply becomes more complex because we are expected to do more with our minute than our ancient forefathers of 10 years ago. So…before you throw away the idea of nothing I want you to try it on for a moment.

I am convinced that if we took a moment to do nothing before taking on major tasks, we would find ourselves working with more efficiency than one iota of technology can give us. Your mind becomes more focused. You will be opened to the direction you may need to go with what you are doing.

Here is how it works…Set aside a few minutes, sit in a relaxed position, close your eyes, breathe deep and allow everything to exit from your mind, then just simply sit there doing nothing. The idea is that you begin to silence the noise that is going on inside of you. The noise that our culture presses on us leads us into crazy ways of living. This noise also keeps us from hearing God speak into our lives. Allotting for times of nothing into your schedule will help keep you sane and help you listen more clearly to God.

I have heard a lot of people say, “When I do actually read my Bible, I often don’t get anything out of it.” I challenged the teens on Wednesday night to try this before entering into times of reading or times of prayer and to see how their experiences change. I’d like to extend this challenge on to you as well. Take time this week for nothing. Sit in the presence of God and be still.