Disconnect From the Source

 

I treated myself to a smartwatch for my birthday a few years ago and was excited because I had heard so many great things that I could do with it like, answer calls, send text messages, use it to pay at stores, and track my steps/workouts as well as listen to music while I exercise if I chose to leave my phone at home (one of the main reasons I got it). I was so excited about being able to listen to music through my earbud from my watch, that as soon as I got it all set up I went for a run in the neighborhood in the middle of the day on a hot late afternoon (which I never do) just to try out this new smartwatch that I purchased. I thought to myself, “This is so convenient that I no longer have to wear my big bulky phone on my armband or place it in my pocket. Let’s go! I am unstoppable now!” 

I began my jog with the praise music from my watch doing its thing in my ears. I was in the zone feeling good…unstoppable like I can jog all day when suddenly...the music stopped. With my pace slowing a bit, I figured maybe that it was transitioning slowly between songs or buffering because of a bad signal. I kept going but slowed down even more and realized that this pause was taking a bit longer than usual and messing up my groove. So I stopped to check my watch and realized that the unthinkable had happened! My watch said these dyer words to me, “NO MUSIC OFFLINE!” I screamed, “NOOOO!” I was too far to turn around and grab my phone from the house, yet I still had a long journey before I got back home. I felt like a squirrel trying to make a decision while trying to find a bright side to this terrible situation. I decided that I wouldn’t let this ruin my jog and decided to make the best of it and said, “Alright God, it is just You and me. Let’s work this out,” and ran along. 

To take my mind off of the distance, the heat, and the run itself, I took in the sounds from the wind and noticed the soothing breeze as it cooled me on this hot summer day. I listened as the cars passed by and watched the clouds in the afternoon sky transition from sunshine to rain clouds back to clear skies in just one instant. I listened to each breath that I took as air entered in and out of my lungs and observed the rhythm of each step that tapped the pavement. I noticed that each step and breath was in sync all in chorus with the mobility of each of my limbs working hard together to make me my best self. I was taking notice of what my body has been capable of doing all along; all of which I had taken for granted. 

I looked up and noticed that I was almost home and my run was almost complete. Just before celebrating, I heard God tell me, “I am your Source, apart from me you can do nothing.” So simple and yet so profound that it stopped me in my tracks. He was telling me that it was Him that got me through the run and not the music that I was relying on. Not only did He get me through the run, but He also did it in a way that was full of substance; a sustainable run, a run that forced me to search within myself to realize that I have all I need inside of me to get me anywhere that I need to go in life. I was so focused on the resource (the watch) that God had blessed me with that I forgot about Him being the Source. 

John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” We get so caught up in the busyness of life and the dependency on resources that are designed to make our lives easier that sometimes God has to slow us down to make us realize that He is our Source. We have been blessed with convenience at our fingertips and have been exposed to so much technology that we can get lost in it all and start to depend on these things as our source. We forget how we ever lived without them which is why God will every now and then remind us that it was Him who blessed us with technology, businesses, jobs, gifts and talents, and even our family and friends as resources. None of which would sustain or be possible if we don’t keep Him first. 

So don’t get so caught up in day-to-day living traffic that you disconnect from the Source. Remember God always has ways to remind us and reconnect us so that we can appreciate all of the big and small things that he has done for us in our lives! He used my smartwatch as a way to get my attention and I am glad it was something that small. Although the music was a great distraction, it took the focus away from the core of my strength, God. He is all that I am and has provided all that is within me to take me where I need to go if I just stay connected to the Source.