“I will . . . station myself . . .’’

We had a big celebration here at Walton station last month to mark the 150^th anniversary of the railways reaching the east coast from London and the opening of the station. A huge 100 mph steam locomotive ‘Tornado’ came non-stop from London, heading ‘The Walton Pier Express’, recapturing the golden days of steam, and of Walton. Thousands of people lined the tracks from Colchester, some spilling onto the line (Indian fashion!) causing the train to have to slow down, and sometimes stop till the police cleared the track. To see the train,  people stationed themselves on the platform, and waited and waited…

It reminded me of what the Bible says about getting hold of God’s vision for your life. It says “I will . . . station myself“ ( Habakkuk 2:1). This man Habakkuk realised that to get hold of all that God actually had for his life he had to station himself before God? Like those stationed at the end of the line on Walton station they knew that if they waited long enough they would surely see the Tornado steam into sight. They stayed put. Some for three hours. They weren’t moving. To ‘station’ yourself before God means, “I’m going to be still. I’m going to sit here and I am not going to move until I hear from you, God.”

That’s what we are going to do as a church the first week of September, before we get caught up in the hurry of life again after the summer holidays, because hurry is the death of prayer. God won’t speak to us as we run out the door. He wants us to care enough to linger and listen in our prayer time. So we are going to spend a week ‘stationing’ ourselves before God. We’ve produced a guide for each day; what to do on the platform as you wait. Pick one up on Sunday morning or else email in for a daily copy.

When the train finally steamed into Walton station, you should have seen the surge as everyone woke up and wanted to get near the loco and see inside the cab and see the fireman stoking coal into the firebox. Parents were lifting children up to get a better view, phones were out taking pictures. So much enthusiasm had been stirred up on the station by the arrival of the long awaited train.

Would you like to have a surge of energy like the crowd on Walton station? Have more enthusiasm for your life? More get up and go? Let me tell you where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words “en theos” — “en” meaning “in” and “theos” meaning “God.” When you get “en theos,” you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get, the more bored and apathetic you become with life.

Next week join us on the station. Station yourself before God. Get into God. It’s time to stop knowing about Him and start actually knowing Him. See you Sunday at Platform 1, Walton Community Centre at 10.30am. Lets be ‘en theos’, and let Him stoke our fire.