Earlier this week I wrote about responding to God—inviting Him into my daily life, meeting Him there, and spending time with Him. So, as I read about the cost of following Christ in chapter 2 of Rachel Olsen’s It’s No Secret, I thought about the blessings versus the cost of anything I give up to spend time with God.
5:00–6:00 a.m. This used to be my favorite time of day to spend with God. The house is quiet, I have time to myself, and usually my mind isn’t already cluttered with details of the day. The problem is two other things compete for that time slot in my day—exercise and sleep.
I decided it was time to discipline myself to find other quiet times of the day to be in God’s Word—times when I could go off by myself, even with others at home, and tune out anything and anyone trying to get my attention. Sometimes that involves scheduling time, or giving up a leisure activity such as reading fiction or watching a television program.
In time it got easier. I learned to put the stress and frustration of the day aside and focus on God. I learned to recognize when I need to take 10 minutes at that very moment to stop and pray or to read Scripture. Discipline became desire—on the days I don’t make time to spend with God, I miss it. I can tell a big difference in my attitude, my reactions, and how I’m feeling.
The blessings have outweighed the cost of anything I gave up to change my schedule. But there is one blessing I never imagined—the change in my daughter. While I used to spend more time studying God’s Word before she was awake in the morning, I was now spending more time when she was a witness to it. As she saw me reading and studying my Bible, I saw her doing the same. Sometimes she would read on her own and come to me with questions. Other times she would ask if she could get her Bible and join me wherever I happened to be studying. It was an unexpected result and a wonderful blessing to see her want to spend time with God!
What is God asking of us today? Will we follow though or will we resist His lead? Whatever we give up for our relationship with God, it is worth it. We get back so much more than we give!
In Christ,
Laura
Comments on Introduction
ReplyDeleteAll my life I’ve been inquisitive and imaginative and have driven people mad with my questions. I’ve driven myself to impatient searching for the answers to “what” and “why” in God’s spiritual mysteries and in my life. At times in personal Bible reading or in Bible study, I find the exact answer I had pursued for one of my questions. Sweet! Now I can mark off that one. However, in some of the very most important ones, I’ve come to realize that the search is lifelong. I have come to accept that. In my submission and acceptance, God gives me peace of mind.
Marilyn
Sometimes I have to remind myself to let God be God. He's in charge and I tell myself I don't need to know all of the answers. But where He sees to lead me to Scripture and give me even a hint of understanding...what a blessing!!
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