Reflection

Last Wednesday, during the Bible study at church, we continued the discussion on How to Spend Time with God.  I know, there are some of you that are rolling your eyes and getting ready to click away from reading this and for that all I can say is, "do as you wish."  There are a few points that really stuck out to me as I went back over the outline tonight; they are:
  1. God wants to spend time with us.
  2. You cannot be a healthy Christian without it.
  3. The purpose of a daily quiet time is to express your love to God and to receive guidance from Him.
  4. Set a time and place and stick to it.
  5. There are going to be distractions; be prepared.
  6. It takes 3 weeks for you to become familiar with something new and an additional 3 weeks for it to become part of your lifestyle.
You may be wondering, that is if you are still with me at this point, why on earth is she bringing this up now.  Well, last week really convicted me.  I mean, the Lord gives me 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 8736 hours in a year and all he asks for is 365 hours, or 4.2%, of that time.  As I sat there thinking about that, I started to rationalize away my time and why I couldn't spare even an hour of it for quiet time.  My rationalization went a little something like this:
  • Work = 50 hrs/wk
  • School (class time and homework/studying) = 12 hrs/wk
  • Driving (to and from work & school) = 11 hrs/wk
  • Kids/housework/family = 30 hrs/wk
  • Sleep = 42 hrs/wk
That all comes to 145 hours a week and then there is church, family functions, time spent with friends, non-household chores, etc...and I'm supposed to squeeze in another hour each day...SERIOUSLY!

I got to pondering my rationalization and that is when this past week things really started to come into focus.  You know, I oftentimes believe focus comes not from inner thinking but from upper thinking.  So what is it that came into focus?  Well, why my life is the way that it is right now.  Why it feels like I'm nothing more than a hamster in a wheel.  I'm simply going through the motions.  I don't have that time with the one person that knows me better than I do, helping me to prioritize, to keep focus, to keep organized, and to lean on Him.  Nope, I'm a lone ranger out there going at it like I have the biggest six shooter there is.  Yet, it's high noon and I'm standing in the town square facing myself.

I'm sure you've heard the saying that goes a little something like 'a person is their own worst enemy'?  In my humble opinion, that is more true that the law of gravity.  It is easy to fall into the pit of despair, the cycle of stinkin' thinkin' when you are susceptible to what ever negativity is in your head.  Of course, there are a lot of reasons negative things get stuck in your head, but I'm not going to get into theology at this time.  Sometimes, it takes making that first step, one you may have taken a time or two, and giving God that hour.  Honestly, an hour was too much for me the first day, but I gave Him 10 minutes, then a little more and a little more.  Now, I haven't given it to Him at the same time or even every day, but this week has been a really, really good week; perhaps He was blessing the time I did give to Him.

On that note, I'm going to leave you with a song that has spoke to my heart a lot lately, and I think I know why God has used it.  Please click on the title and REALLY listen to the lyrics!

Someone Worth Dying For

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