Devotion: Thursday, May 8, 2014 Topic: One thing that changed my Quite Time I have this vision of what my quiet time should look like every day. Here is what I envision: I’m sitting on my comfy couch in my living room. It is the wee hours of the morning, still dark–the moon is still in the sky– and I’m reading by lamp light, with a cup of coffee in hand. My Bible lies open on my lap. God will speak to me quite clearly. I will listen, and it will change my day. In perfect timing, just as my time with God comes to a close, my family will all begin to wake up. Then, the day will be perfect. I don’t know about you, but that is a dream. I have had it happen like that…maybe once. But as a stay- at- home mom of three children under the age of four, this is most often an impossibility. No matter how early I rise, someone is always up within minutes of my rising. And I am quite sure I am not the only one. Am I? Let me share with you what my quiet time is actually like, not a pretty picture, and I am not proud of it. Wake up later than I planned, sun is already up, and I am scrambling to get my coffee ready. With my Bible in hand, I creep through the house (so I don’t wake anyone up). Then, just when I am completely settled, and I have opened my Bible…someone pops around the corner with a big smile, saying “Morning, Mommy!” I am so ashamed to say that I get irritated. My internal conversation with God goes something like this… “You say you want us to spend quiet time with You. Why didn’t You just let me have a few quiet moments with You before the day started? I really need it, more than anyone. You know I need it. You know that, it is how You created me! It is what You request of me.” Do you know it took me quite a while to realize that God was giving me quiet time? It just wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned. Sometime after this episode repeated for a while, I felt God calling me to lighten up a bit. Imagine that? To quit putting my quiet time with Him in a box, quit putting Him in a box. And now… I see God and hear Him speak to me all throughout the day! It isn’t the way I had expected to hear from Him, but what does that matter? He is speaking and teaching me! Showing me new things and revealing new truths to me! So who cares if I’m snuggled up on my couch when He does it, or loading the dishwasher? God has taught me so much since becoming a wife and a mother. He understands the phase I’m in right now. He understands that sleep is a precious thing at the moment and that getting up at six in the morning would probably make me more cranky than if I just got that extra hour of sleep! So, He has mercy on me and seeks me out during my day. Allowing me to rest and hear from Him during my kids’ nap time or interrupting a truly chaotic moment with my kids to teach me something about His kingdom and show me His heart. Im not saying that we shouldnt make time for Him or that mornings are bad. I am actually a total morning person! What I am saying, is that God wants a relationship with you and I. The most important thing to Him, is that we talk to Him, share our thoughts and feelings with Him and simply love Him. I think that we put pressures on ourselves that God never would. By my being open to change, by inviting Him into my day, our day and asking Him to take the wheel, to sit in the drivers seat, I have been greatly blessed. God gives me the opportunity to do what He calls us all to do all throughout the Bible. The Greatest Commandment. Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” To love God. To love my family. To love what I do and do it with a good attitude. Then He comes in and adds the rest. He gives me ALL that I need. He meets me where I am. That’s so amazing! What does your quiet time look like? What do you want it to look like? Is it ideal? Or are you like me. Is God calling you to lighten up and change? No matter which it is: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8 He will meet you where you are!
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 06:01:56 +0000
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