Time with Him

Last month marked 21 years since I started following Christ. In that time I have been on mountaintop peaks with God, valleys of distance from Him and all the places in between. I have been too much 'of the world' and I have been too far removed from it. I have let Him carry me through dark places and I have had seasons of resisting Him, wanting to run my own show, dabbling in sin--while defiantly plugging my ears to the voice of truth in my life.

One thing I have always struggled with is having a consistent quiet time each day. I somehow always have time to return e-mail, read the news, talk to my friends, and generally do all the other things I prioritize...but being in the Word? I have struggled with how to consistently make this a part of my life.

Part of the problem is that I am not a routine person. I like to go different ways to the same places. I like to 'shake it up' in terms of the order in which I do things...and I am just rebellious enough that I don't like to feel like I 'have to' do something at any certain time of day.

Add motherhood (particularly when my children were younger) and the fact that I LOVE sleep...well, it has been far too easy to put 'reading the Word' on my list of things to do later.

I justified this by the fact that I was getting the Word of God in my life lots of ways. I listen to sermons online while doing the laundry. I like praise and worship music. I am in 2 small groups. I lead a Bible Study for teenagers. I read encouraging blogs. I seek God's face in my daily life.

All of those things are good things. I think it is important to have all those various channels of truth being poured into our hearts. HOWEVER, I realized that in almost all of these scenarios, I am relying on other people to interpret God's Word for me.

I have tried so many frameworks, guides, books and approaches in the last two decades...all to no lasting avail. September 1st I started a small devotion book called Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship by Kenneth Boa. It is a wonderful framework for quiet time--a framework for praying through 10-12 verses of Scripture each day. The way it is set up allows you to spend 5 minutes or 50 minutes...depending on how much time you want to spend with each passage. There are a few prayer prompts after each group of passages...but the book is largely just God's Word. I have been reminded that the word of God is living and active. It speaks to me every single day, right where I am, in a meaningful and relevant way.

I LOVE good teaching. I love learning from the testimonies of other believers...but I must confess that there is no match for reading a verse straight out of Scripture and letting God reveal what it means in your current circumstances. I have been greatly convicted about some areas of unconfessed sin in my life. I have also been encouraged and renewed in ways I had forgotten were possible.

If you, like me, can find time to do other things but struggle in this area can I just encourage you to give it another go? Tell God how hard it is for you. Ask Him to help you with the discipline to make it a priority. I would even encourage you to confess to Him that you don't really like it or want to do it sometimes. Give Him room to move in your life through His Word and watch what happens!

So many people ask "Where is God?" "Why isn't He showing up in my life?" I have to wonder if they are really slowing down to look and listen for Him. Or is their life so full of so much other noise--so many other voices--that His still, small voice is easy to ignore? I write all this as one who has been there.

He loves us extravagantly and unconditionally. He has pursued us, even to the point of the sacrifice of His Son's life. He doesn't need us...He wants us. Can you give Him 5-10 minutes of your undivided attention?