“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” John 13:23

How do you relax?

Name three ways.

How do you relax into God? 

Name one way.

While one may, or may not, be good at relaxing, I’m pretty certain that each of us find it a struggle to relax into God.

What does it mean to relax into God?  Quite simply it means doing what John, the Beloved disciple, is doing; simply leaning on Jesus’ bosom.  Doing nothing.  Resting in the Presence of God.  Being refreshed by His Being.  Not doing anything.

That’s really, really hard, isn’t it?  We are programmed, be it by our culture, parents, jobs, or other people, to be productive.  To be doing something that is meaningful and makes a difference.  To be striving for success, accomplishing our goals, meeting life’s imagined metrics.  So much of how we see ourselves is based on the idea of actively doing something so that at the end of the day we can feel as if we have accomplished something.  But that’s not how it works with a vibrant, enriching, faith life.  For that, we must be still, be silent, be in the bosom of God, relaxing.

This has been my practice for years now.  But it didn’t come easy.  I used to start my day with exercise, and to the extent there was time with God it was as a theological endeavor, usually studying and preparing for a Sunday sermon.  When I was confronted with the crossroads in my life I didn’t have the energy to hit the ground running, and so I began to sit quietly, usually reading a few verses from the bible and a number of pages from an inspirational book.  It was soul refreshing, but I was still focused on getting something done, pursuing some outcome that would benefit me.  Over time I have throttled back on that practice, and begun my day not by opening the bible or another book, but by sitting in the silence and dark, usually with calming and peaceful meditation music playing.  I am not doing, reading, saying, or praying anything.  Just sitting.  In stillness.  It is my version of relaxing into God.

There are definite benefits to this practice, but they can’t be measured or quantified.  One of the main benefits is that it helps to relax into the rest of the day, and dare I say into the rest of one’s life.  There is less activity and agitation; much more peace.  There is a sense of being in the Presence of God, leaning on the bosom of Jesus, relishing the sense of being embraced by God’s love, and saturated with The Spirit.  It is a sort of soaking, if you will.  Difficult to describe.  Delightful to experience.

So how do you relax?  Into God?