A Little Longer...

This morning as I was getting ready for church, I had a little jam session to Bethel Music's album You Make Me Brave (Live). One of the first songs that came up was called "A Little Longer." Read the lyrics for a second...

{What can I do for You, What can I bring to You

What kind of song would You like me to sing?

'Cause I'll dance a dance for You, Pour out my love for You

What can I do for You, beautiful King?

'Cause I can't thank You enough

'Cause I can't thank You enough

All of the words that I find, and I can't thank You enough

No matter how I try, and I can't thank You enough

What can I do for You, What can I bring to You

What kind of song would You like me to sing?

'Cause I'll dance a dance for You, Pour out my love for You

What can I do for You, beautiful King?

'Cause I can't thank You enough

'Cause I can't thank You enough

Then I hear You say

You don't have to do a thing

Just simply be with Me, and let those things go

'Cause they can wait another minute

Wait, this moment is too sweet

Would you please stay here with Me

And love on me a little longer

'Cause I'm in love with you

So I'll wait here at Your feet, it's where I want to be

Your voice I'll follow

Jesus You are everything to me

And I'll pour out my life, worship at Your feet

Love on You a little longer

'Cause I'm in love with you

I'm in love with you}

Now as I've mentioned before, it is so important to take that daily time to spend with Jesus. To calm your spirit, to listen for His voice, to pursue Him in this never-ending love story. The lyrics that stuck out to me were in the bridge: "You don't have to do a thing, just simply be with Me, and let those things go, 'cause they can wait another minute, wait, this moment is too sweet, would you please stay here with Me, and love on me a little longer?"

Wow.

For me, this truly hit home. If you don't feel the Holy Spirit trying to send you a message just by reading those lyrics, I recommend you listen to the song and see what happens. Even with Christmas being right around the corner, it can be easy to get stressed and forget who we're even celebrating. 

A few weekends ago I went to SDYC (Southern District Youth Conference) with my church. The worship was great, the speaker was fabulous and I had an awesome time digging into God's Word. But as always, life gets busy and a few days later I was back in the swing of my schedule living life as I had before. 

So often we find ourselves making excuses about why we don't have time to read our Bibles. There's laundry to do, tests to study for and bills to pay. In the end, is all of that really going to matter?

Don't get me wrong, I understand we all have tons of responsibilities and commitments we need to keep up with and I'm not saying it's alright to neglect them. I am saying we need to remember this life isn't going to last forever, and when we stand before the throne on Judgement Day we aren't going to be thankful for the time we spent obsessing and stressing over cleaning the house and acing that biology test...

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." -Colossians 3:2

This also reminds me of a sermon Susie Shellenberger preached this summer while on my mission trip in Costa Rica. It was called 'Clear the Stage', discussing how idols are still present in our lives today even though they don't usually take place in the form of golden statues. Here are some of my favorite lyrics from Jimmy Needham's song "Clear the Stage":

{Take a break from all the plans that you have made

And sit at home alone and wait for God to whisper

Beg Him please to open up His mouth and speak

And pray for real upon your knees until they blister

Shine a light on every corner of your life

Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open

Then read the word and put to test the things you've heard

Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken}

I challenge you to take 30 minutes this week to spend quiet time alone with God. I know this will be difficult with Christmas presents to buy and finals to study for, but you can do it! :) Let those small chores and worries go; they really can wait another minute. This life will only last so long, but the special time you spend with Jesus is priceless.

His Biblical Beauty,

Paige