A Time to Sit and a Time to Stand...

"Position yourselves"

2 Chronicles 20:17

Well, the sports season is winding up for my kids.  

I've never been a terrific athlete, although there was a time I did participate in sweat-producing, good-for-your-cardio activities on a regular basis.  I played softball for several years, (2nd base, and occasionally pitching, but my stellar position was center field.  If I do say so myself.  Which I did.)  And I loved volleyball when I was in middle school.  Oh, and track and field events.  I was so good at hurdling.  But these days, the closest I get to participating in a sport is going for walk, so any time I happen to mention how good I was at various sports when I was younger, the Apple of my Eye just smiles at me patronizingly.

But I do enjoy watching sports, and especially watching my kids participate in their sports.  And I did enjoy attending football games in high school.  It was a fun time of hanging out with friends, enjoying some good competition, greasy snacks, and school spirit.  And I went to high school with the Apple of my Eye, and we were fortunate to attend a school with a strong athletic department.  So a lot of the time, we were on the winning side.

For some reason, I got to thinking about those games recently.  Wearing our school colors and joining the cheerleaders in celebrating our school spirit.  Unity.  I didn't know a lot of those kids, and of the ones I knew, I wasn't necessarily friends with them, but when we were cheering for our team, we were all together.

Well, once my memory started down this road of sports --> highschool --> cheerleaders, I started remember different silly little cheers.  There was a sort of "competition cheer" we did, where we would shout:  "We've got spirit, yes we do!  We've got spirit, how about you?" and then the other school's fans would shout the same thing, trying to be louder than our side.

Course, then there were the times we played our rival school, which was an all-boys school.  So when we did that cheer with them, we would shout, "We've got girls, yes we do!  We've got girls, how about you?"

Mature, yes?

But we also had a cheer ~ and here's where my thought process turned spiritual, because you knew it would ~ where we chanted, "Lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down, fight fight fight!"  With the appropriate accompanying calisthenics, of course.  I guess that accomplishes the same as the 7th inning stretch, in baseball.

Well thinking about this led me to think about "positions" in the Bible.  Standing, sitting, kneeling, etc.  So I did a little word study, to see what kind of scenarios call for different positions or where God stands on the subject of, well, standing.

I also did a study on the origin of the phrase "train of thought".  And then I did a study on trains.

I kid.  But thanks for staying with me. 

So here's what I found.  And I thought I'd share these over a couple of days, and let you ponder, a little bit, what God might be saying to you with each one.

So first, sitting...

Sitting in the Bible often just means resting, as in:

Micah 4:4 ~ "Everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken."

I think that's what sit means to me, most often.  Taking a break from something that has required standing, or moving. 

Or in 1 Samuel 16:11, when Samuel came to find David.  Samuel asked to see Jesse's sons, and they all came to him, except David.  Samuel told Jesse, "Send and bring him.  For we will not sit down till he comes here."

In other words, we will not rest until our mission is complete. 

Or in Ruth 3:18, when Naomi gives Ruth directions to do nothing, while God handles things:  "Then she said, 'Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day."

Waiting for God to act is the best kind of resting.

~

I also found the word "sit" meaning to judge or preside...

Judges 4:5 ~ "(Deborah) would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim.  And the children of Israel came up to her for judgement." 

This is a bit of a tricky one to apply in our everyday lives.  We're not often called upon to act as judge, but I think it means that in giving counsel to anyone, even mediating a squabble between kids, it needs to be done with thought; with concentration; and without haste.

~

In Psalm 26, "sit" means to tolerate or put up with...

"I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked."

In this case sitting means doing nothing, which is something you shouldn't do when there's something to be done!  Like getting up and walking away from evildoers.

~

Deuteronomy 6:7 and 11:19 are a couple of beautiful verses that illustrate the action of sitting ~ "you shall teach His words diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

That is to say, sitting is just a position choice, not an excuse to be disobedient.

~

And then there's my favorite use of the verb.  

Except when it's my least favorite.

Waiting.

Matthew 26:36 ~ "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, 'Sit here while I go and pray over there."

Something is coming.  Just wait here.  But again, don't wait doing nothing.  Pray.

And Mark 6:39 ~ "Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass."

Something is coming.  God has plans for you.  Blessings are not far off.  Just sit and wait on His timing. 

~

The Apple of my Eye is a very active person.  We used to laugh at how the minute he sat, our dog would fling herself onto his lap, and press her head against his chest, as if she were forcing him to spend some time with her.   I'm sure she thinks he doesn't sit often enough!  And he, too, notices.  Sometimes when he finally has a chance to relax, he will sink into a chair and say, "Ahh...... sitting is my favorite position!"

I love that he has that appreciation of sitting.  And I hope we'll take a cue from him, and be aware.  There's more to sitting than just sitting. 

~ "The Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees...

as he was sitting" ~

Genesis 18:1

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