Why Too Much Structure Can Hinder Our Growth

We are living in a culture of busy. It is inevitable. Calendars, reminders, and alarms rule our world.

The crazy thing is, we are in the Christmas season and we are even busier. We rush to buy gifts, we rush to visit family, we rush to wrap presents, we rush to church and watch our watch for it to be done on time, we rush to cook meals, we rush to move an elf, we rush to rush. It is a vicious cycle.

Isn’t it interesting that we are celebrating the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, and we are in a hectic spiral of hustling around to get things done? We are weighing ourselves down with so much to do, when we are to be honoring the One who came to lighten our load.

With so much on our plate we run the risk of failing to experience the true meaning of Christmas.

The same can be said with our church experience.

We enter our church building or place of worship and we instantly start the mental timer. We know the structure of events. It is time for opening prayer, now we stand, now we sit, now we hear three songs (it better not go more than that, I can’t stand too much longer), now it is offering, now the pastor preaches (Better not be too long either, gotta get to lunch), closing prayer, maybe one last song, and we are off.

Ok, this might be missing different elements of your church experience or added some things, but either way, you get the point.

We have made our church and spiritual life so structured that we might be missing the Spirit’s freedom. We have a God who wants us to experience His work freely, yet we structure Him. We have a God who is organized, but moves without walls, yet we move Him into our schedule.

When we place our God in such a confined space it is no wonder we struggle to experience Him beyond Sunday.

The Spirit is trying to move us to sing loudly, lift our hands joyfully, listen and embrace the Word of God wholly, and move with Him outside of church to be the Church!

The problem is, we schedule Him. We make our time with God so structured that we hinder the Spirit’s ability to move in and through us. God only lived in a box in the Old Testament. He sent His Son so He no longer had to be there, but everywhere.

This Christmas, try to allow some movement. Take your watch off. Put the cellphone down. Read the song lyrics and take them in, be willing to accept an extra song, let the pastor preach beyond a time limit in order to follow the lead of the Spirit, and listen to what God is trying to teach you, so you can be moved with Him.

May you discover something new this Christmas. May you be renewed this Christmas. May you be moved closer to the One who came to bring peace.

Peace and Blessings friends!

QUESTION: What do you do to slow down during the Christmas season?