Time with God

Hello sweet blog readers. Lately I have been struggling to have time with the Lord. Since I’ve been sick and during my recovery process, my schedule has not been consistent and when I lay down to sleep each night I remember–“Wait, I didn’t spend time with Jesus today.” I know the Lord understands sickness and circumstances that may not always allow you to spend extended amounts of time in the Word. However,  God desires us to put Him first in whatever way that looks like in our present circumstances. In different seasons our quiet time can change, but God asks us to do what we are able to do in that moment, and gives us the grace to do so.   I have lots of extra time at home right now so I need to use it by sitting at the feet of Jesus and soaking up His word instead of spending my time doing trivial activities to entertain myself.

I recently began reading “The Cross and the Switchblade,” by David Wilkerson. I am not too far into it yet, but his story is powerful. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. In the book, David tells a story about how he loved watching “The Tonight Show” each night once all of his family had gone to bed. That was the one activity he enjoyed doing to unwind. One night he was convicted about needing to spend more time in prayer, but thought that he didn’t have more time in his day. However, that was until God reminded him of the calm quiet hours that he stayed up watching television. God began leading Him to give up that time of tv watching, and spend it in prayer instead. Since David was the only one in the household who watched television he told the Lord that he would put an ad in the newspaper advertising that his tv was for sale. If it sold in the first half hour of the newspaper releasing then he would give it up.  Well guess what? Within the first 29 minutes the television sold, and David began to use that time each evening for prayer and communion with the Father. It was hard for him at first but he would tell you that it was worth it.  I want to clarify that I am not saying we should all sell our televisions and never watch them again, but I do think we need to make spending time with Christ the most important part of our day. Therefore, if television, movies, reading, social media, activities, etc are taking us away from Him then we need to adjust our priorities.

I can tell when I am not spending enough time with the Lord because my mind starts to be anxious, and I start to worry and fret over every little thing. I also start to feel discontent and not satisfied with life. This is not how the Lord intends for us to live. He wants us to enjoy being with Him, and live in the freedom that He gives us each day. Nothing or no one can satisfy the longings and discontentment in our hearts, except for Jesus. We think we can fill ourselves up on worldly things, and that will give us the satisfaction we need, but that only leaves us wanting more. Jesus desires for us to come to Him each day, seek, and get to know Him. He is ready and waiting to be our beloved and best friend. So will you join me daily by spending time with your Savior? It doesn’t have to be a long time each day. God knows you’re heart and what you are able to give so give the best of every day to Him and you will not regret it. Make Jesus your treasure.  Below are some tips that I have found helpful over the years in spending time with God and I hope they encourage you as well.

Read the Bible – Daily Bible reading books are a helpful resource in this. Also, Apps like YouVersion and She Reads Truth have different plans you can choose from to read each day. Also, John is a good place to start and Psalm 119 is one of my personal favorites. So much truth there.

– Prayer Journaling – Write out your prayers to God. This helps you stay focused and journaling is also a good way to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness.

– Devotionals – Nothing should replace the word of God but doing devotionals can be a helpful addition to your Bible reading each day. Some of my favorites are: My “Utmost For His Highest” by Oswald Chambers, and “A Lamp Unto My Feet by Elisabeth Elliot.

Also, I am currently going through the book, “To Live is Christ,” by Beth Moore that highlights the missionary journeys of Paul, and it has been amazing.

How do you spend your quiet times? I would love for you to share what God is teaching you and how I can pray for you. Be encouraged!