Quiet Time with God

Readings for today: Ezekiel 19-21, Psalms 36

One of the first “spiritual disciplines” I learned as a Christian was how to have a “quiet time” with the Lord. I was in college. I had just come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I was just learning what it meant to follow Jesus and some older, wiser believers taught me the importance of spending time with God every single day. When I started, I could only muster about 10-15 minutes but gradually over time that number grew to an hour or so a day. I’ve been doing it for almost thirty years at this point. Sometimes I miss a day but it’s rare. It’s become a part of my natural, daily rhythm to life much like eating, drinking, working out, etc.

Why spend time every day with God? I think the Psalmist says it best, “How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They are filled from the abundance of your house. You let them drink from your refreshing stream. For the wellspring of life is with you. By means of your light we see light. Spread your faithful love over those who know you, and your righteousness over the upright in heart.” (Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬) We spend time with God to take refuge under His wings. When we are anxious and afraid and worried about life, God is there for us. He spreads His wings over us. He spreads His faithful love over us and we are encouraged. We spend time with God to break free of the “scarcity mindset” that has so many of us enslaved. We are reminded and actually experience His abundance. We are given an eternal perspective that helps us be grateful for all we have been given rather than focus on what we may think we lack. We spend time with God to be refreshed. To be renewed. To be restored. We drink from the refreshing stream of His Spirit. We drink from the wellspring of His life. We bask in His light.

I recently returned from vacation in Puerta Vallarta. As much as I love the mountains, I love the beach as well. Whenever my wife and I can get away, we try to go somewhere close to an ocean where it is warm and sunny. We vacation well together. We pretty much shut it down. We spend our days sleeping in, reading books, being quiet, and being outside as much as possible. The sun was out almost the whole time we were in Mexico. Every day we got to spend hours basking in its rays and I was reminded once again what it’s like to be in the light of God’s presence. We got to swim in the ocean and I was reminded once again what it’s like to be immersed in God’s love. We ate and drank in abundance and I was reminded again of God’s faithfulness to us. It is endless. It is boundless. It is matchless. Perhaps most of all, I was reminded that not very many people get to do what I do and that gives me perspective. We talked to our taxi driver on the way back to the airport as we left and he told us he only gets about three to four days of vacation a year and he tries his best to spend it with family. He feels so blessed to have that time. He doesn’t feel any lack at all and his joy was contagious.

Friends, this is what it means to live your life in the presence of the Lord and a quiet time every day helps us get back in touch with this deep truth on a regular basis. If you don’t already, let me encourage you to make the time every day to just “be” with the Lord. No agenda. No checklist. No tasks. Just sitting quietly in His presence. Reading His Word. Praying. Listening. Letting yourself sit under the shadow of His wings and enjoy the fullness of His love.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 22-24, Psalms 37

Waiting on God

Readings for today: Proverbs 7-9, Psalms 150

“Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Listening. Watching. Waiting. Three essential ingredients to a deep and vibrant relationship with God. But they do not come naturally. I am much more apt to speak rather than listen. Much more apt to take action rather than sit back and watch. Much more apt to jump in and get involved rather than wait for the right time. I am an impatient man. I do not like waiting in lines. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for much of anything. 

Listening, watching, and waiting on God has always been a challenge for me. My prayers tend to be monologues. My time with Him can turn into a spiritual “to-do” list. Read your Bible. Journal. Pray. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Historically, I’ve spent so little time in silence before the Lord. So little time waiting for Him to speak. I am always in a rush. Always in a hurry. Always on to the next thing. And I’ve been a pastor long enough to know I’m not alone.

I think this is why we are so quick to create idols. We want a god we can control. We want a god who meets our demands. A god who operates according to our schedule. Remember the people of Israel? Remember when they made the golden calf? A careful reading of the story reveals their impatience. Moses had been gone a long time. For all they knew, he could have perished on Mt. Sinai. They grew impatient. They grew restless. They wanted to get on with it. Lay hold of all God had promised. They wanted to worship. To celebrate their deliverance. Their motives were not all bad. They simply wanted it to happen on their timeline rather than God’s. So they turned to Aaron and asked him to get a move on. Aaron was anxious as well. So rather than lead, he followed. He gave into the people’s demands, making an idol for them to worship. A tangible God they could see and feel.

It is easy to criticize the Israelites. How foolish of them to worship a golden calf! As if we are any better! Sure, our idols are not made of gold or silver necessarily but they are no less real. We worship all sorts of things. A cursory glance at our checkbook or schedule reveals all we need to know about our true priorities. Our struggle to simply sit in God’s presence each day to listen, watch, and wait shows us the depths of our impatience. We want God to fit into our lives. We’ll give Him the gaps in our schedules. We’ll give Him the leftovers of our resources. We’ll throw Him a bone every now and then just to cover our bases. 

There are consequences when we fail to listen and watch and wait for God. How many times has our impatience cost us? How many times have we gone off half-cocked? Rushed into a situation we did not understand? How many times have we made a decision we later regretted because we didn’t take the time to get all the information we needed? Blessed indeed is the one who patiently listens to God’s voice. Watches at God’s gate. Waits beside His doors. How different would the Exodus story have been if the people of God had simply waited for Moses to come down before taking action? How different would your life or my life be if we simply waited for God to speak before taking action?  

Readings for tomorrow: Proverbs 10-12, Psalms 1