Devotion, Distractions, & Discipline
But His delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law He meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
No matter how hectic life gets we have to find time to hear His voice. The difficulty comes when life becomes so overwhelming that spending quality time with God is minimized to calling on Him only when we need something or waiting on a convenient time that never seems to come. I have these moments when I know I could be reading my bible but I find myself scrolling through social media. And then there are those days when being a bum on the couch is the only thing I have energy for. Yes, both require varying levels of energy but nonetheless they represent a missed opportunity to do something much more worthwhile.
Whether it be just the day to day stresses of life from work to family, I think if we intentionally make the decision to spend intimate time with God, it will change our lives for the better. After all, life is all about choices and sometimes all it takes is a conscious decision to simply do better. It will take putting our phones away, staying in on a Friday night, or waking up 30 minutes early before work (or play), but at the end of the day God is so worth it.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
I think the good news about having a desire to spend more time with God is that it doesn't have to look the same for all of us. Whether it be listening to music, reading a book, or meditating on a scripture, we can literally spend time with God in a way that resonates with who we are. It's precious time that can bring us clarity, purpose, conviction, healing, etc. The key is making sure that we sit still in His presence long enough not to miss what God has to say.
There is a time for play. There is a time for rest. There is a time to be productive. And there has to be time when we feed our faith so that we don't become spiritually weak. For me, life becomes so mentally exhausting sometimes that I find myself giving God the last bit of energy at the very end of the day and so maybe that means I need to make an adjustment in when I spend time with God. I'm still figuring it out, but in the meantime I'm so grateful that God shows us mercy along the way. I'm also grateful that this isn't about perfection and that no matter where we are in our walk with God, we just have to start somewhere.
