Scattered to Gathered | With-ness
Let me ask you a question: would it sound odd to say that following Jesus should be a habit in life? I ask because it seems that worry, stress, doubt, overthinking, comparison, and social media are sometimes more habitual in life than following Jesus.
So, if there was One thing that could bring a scattered brain together, then why wouldn’t we make it a habit to focus on the One? That’s what I want to talk about today. Gathering ourselves up in Jesus. Planning time with Him. Jesus becoming a habit.
Let’s go ahead and jump into the scripture. It comes from the prophet Jeremiah, in his 31st chapter, verses 10-12.
Nations, hear the word of the Lord, and tell it among the far-off coasts and islands!
Say, “The one who scattered Israel will gather him. He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,for the Lord has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he. “They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the Lord’s goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
Jeremiah is delivering the Lord’s message to the people, encouraging them that even in the middle of their current circumstances God will gather and protect them like a shepherd does his flock.
What was their current circumstance? They—the two tribes of the southern kingdom of Judah—have been exiled to Babylon at this time. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom had already fallen to the Assyrians because of their disobedience and turning away from God. All of God’s people were completely focused on their own pleasures. They were both spiritually and physically all over the place. Not only were they scattered in captivity, but they were scattered in unity as a nation and unity with God.
Ever since being set free from slavery, to seeking the promised land, to begging for a king, the Israelites get a bad rap for being whiny in their wilderness moments. Yet, today we are still like them in so many ways. Just read posts on social media and you’ll see Christians who have been set free from sin with the promise of Heaven, who are whining about things that they don’t like. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the whining, because when life gets hard, we get hangry! We want the promise, but we don’t want to take the path to get there. It’s easier to keep the habit of worry, stress, doubt, overthinking, comparison, and social media.
Now by the time we get to the book of Jeremiah, Israel had already entered the promised land. Joshua 21:45 says, ‘None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.’ Yet, it didn’t take long for them to fall back into old ways of turning away from God – hence the scattering.
God’s promise of gathering means God WILL bring his people back together, reunite them, and restore them to their own land. And It’s not just a physical promise but a spiritual and emotional one as well. Everything will be fulfilled! Everyone united once again
The promises God had for them then are still meant for YOU today. The thing is though, we have to include Him in our life. It’s not about perfection, as if we will never again be scatterbrained, or worry, or be tempted to compare, or doubt, or overthink – it’s just about including Him in the process until the promise comes.
When I see a bug in our house, I automatically call for my husband, I include him in the process of getting the bug out of the house. Yet, when a pest-like doubt knocks on the door of my mind, I sometimes allow it in and stare at it for hours, never including Jesus in the process of getting it out of my mind. I fixate on the problem and forget about The One who can fix it.
All we have to do is say His name, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” There’s so much power in His name. You know, like that song by Carole King says,
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I'll come runnin'
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend
Jesus says in Luke 9:23 that we have to take up the cross daily. Not just one prayer that is prayed one time, but every single day. We need to make it a ritual— a habit—to take on His cross. To enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts and his courts with praise (Psalm 100:4).
We don’t have to have all the words for a great theological prayer when we are in the middle of “all the things.” We just have to say His name again and again, every day. When we grow a “with-ness” with Him, it will become more of a habit to give Him the hard things, the things we overthink, the moments we try to control. We will prayerfully start to feel a little less scattered and a little more gathered in Him.