Making Progress by Doing Nothing

Life is filled with contradictions. We would be wise to get used to it.

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If a sit quietly long enough a useful thought will surface. This thought might be to do one thing over another. Other thoughts will follow in their time and they will work to both reinforce and shoot down this first thought.

Another thought may then surface, perhaps on a totally different topic, and then another. And what does it look like I am doing from the outside?

Nothing

On the other hand I could be actively doing nothing like watching a sitcom or playing a video game and I can pretend that I am actually being productive, but it’s a lie. My mind is engaged in a distraction, and when it is it can’t be present in the nothing long enough for something to sprout and grow.

Now be honest. There are times when you think you are too busy to focus on reading this. You think it is a distraction.

Perhaps so.

Perhaps not.

It all depends, really, on where your mind is in the moment. Look for it right now and tell yourself where it is.

Now, let me be honest. There are times when I think I’m too busy to write this, but then I understand I would miss out on the creative quiet time necessary before any word is ever written, and frankly, that’s where the dance is.

Also, especially when the world seems to be spinning out of control, it is important for our sanity to understand we are in an unconventional war.

Part of information warfare strategy is to distract the enemy. This then messes with clear thinking and weakens resolve.

But surely this doesn’t describe our lives, does it?

The best description I know for describing the very real conflict we are in is

Ephesians 6:12:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (ESV)

So our battle is smack dab in our own minds, and if this is true, then it changes the importance of prayer. This is because the most powerful and important prayers are transmitted in the nothing. Yes, there are times to pray out loud, but this should just be the tip of the iceberg.

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Jesus explained how to pray this way:

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:5-6 (ESV)

Application Exercise:

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Get something to write with and on.

Set a timer for five minutes.

Be quiet and observe your thoughts. Write down any and everything you find interesting and important.

At the end of five minutes write a comment here and tell us what you discovered.