One Choice that CAN Change Your Life
Spiritual Disciplines 8
The rapid growth of technology and instant access to information, while having many benefits, are also the biggest distractors and barriers to the growth of our relationship with God. It is easy to get lost in Facebook, Pinterest, and video games. Time seems to speed by us as we sit entranced in breaking news and You tube videos.
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecclesiastes 3:7
I frequently hear people say they are "so busy" but my question is, "What are you busy doing?" Are you producing fruit? Is your life getting better? Or is anyone else's life improving? What do you really do with your time?
I heard a pastor ask these very questions over ten year ago. They pierced my heart because even though we didn't have Twitter or Instagram back then, I was desperately avoiding the brokenness in my own life through television shows and fiction books.
In response to God's tug on my heart through that message, I started setting apart the first 30 minutes of my day for God. This habit was my way of demonstrating to God His importance in my life. Yes, it did require me to set my alarm earlier and I had to go to bed earlier but I was desperate to leave my hurts behind me once and for all and I could not resist the call of Jesus.
It was in those quiet moment with God that the transformation of my soul (and my life) took place.
Silence and solitude is for me the most powerful spiritual discipline. As I said before, my most profound moments with God have occured without words when He and I were alone. The moments however did not just happen in my daily life. I had to plan for them. I actually had to add "date with God" on my calendar.
For God alone my souls waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
Psalm 62:1
The time set apart for God alone is the source of your greatest peace and strength. All the doing and busyness of life will keep you going around the same mountain making a 40 year journey of an eleven day trip. The discipline of silence and solitude with God is something you will learn over time.
It seems very difficult at first to sit quietly with God. The silence seems to bounce loudly between your ears. Your thoughts may wander off and you may even fall asleep. But I can promise you that the more you practice just sitting in God's presence the easier it becomes.
When I first started this discipline, I kept it limited to those first 30 minutes in the morning. But God (I love saying that!) does not let us stay in stagnant waters. He will continuously challenge us to take bigger steps of faith and to get out of our comfort zones. After a few years of "my" routine, He asked me to just sit on the couch with Him. The first time I did this, I fell asleep. No lie!
But I'm not the only one who has ever done that. Remember Jesus taking Peter, John, and James with Him to the garden of Gethsemane? Jesus came back and found them sleeping three times (Matt. 36-46).
I tell you this, not to discourage you but to encourage you. Don't be so hard on yourself. Set apart special time just for you and God. Learn to sit with Him and receive from Him in silence.
Your life will change when practice the discipline of silence and solitude. For it is here, when God has your undivided attention that you will discover His power at work in you.
Heidirn
The rapid growth of technology and instant access to information, while having many benefits, are also the biggest distractors and barriers to the growth of our relationship with God. It is easy to get lost in Facebook, Pinterest, and video games. Time seems to speed by us as we sit entranced in breaking news and You tube videos.
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecclesiastes 3:7
I frequently hear people say they are "so busy" but my question is, "What are you busy doing?" Are you producing fruit? Is your life getting better? Or is anyone else's life improving? What do you really do with your time?
I heard a pastor ask these very questions over ten year ago. They pierced my heart because even though we didn't have Twitter or Instagram back then, I was desperately avoiding the brokenness in my own life through television shows and fiction books.
In response to God's tug on my heart through that message, I started setting apart the first 30 minutes of my day for God. This habit was my way of demonstrating to God His importance in my life. Yes, it did require me to set my alarm earlier and I had to go to bed earlier but I was desperate to leave my hurts behind me once and for all and I could not resist the call of Jesus.
It was in those quiet moment with God that the transformation of my soul (and my life) took place.
For God alone my souls waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
Psalm 62:1
The time set apart for God alone is the source of your greatest peace and strength. All the doing and busyness of life will keep you going around the same mountain making a 40 year journey of an eleven day trip. The discipline of silence and solitude with God is something you will learn over time.
It seems very difficult at first to sit quietly with God. The silence seems to bounce loudly between your ears. Your thoughts may wander off and you may even fall asleep. But I can promise you that the more you practice just sitting in God's presence the easier it becomes.
When I first started this discipline, I kept it limited to those first 30 minutes in the morning. But God (I love saying that!) does not let us stay in stagnant waters. He will continuously challenge us to take bigger steps of faith and to get out of our comfort zones. After a few years of "my" routine, He asked me to just sit on the couch with Him. The first time I did this, I fell asleep. No lie!
But I'm not the only one who has ever done that. Remember Jesus taking Peter, John, and James with Him to the garden of Gethsemane? Jesus came back and found them sleeping three times (Matt. 36-46).
I tell you this, not to discourage you but to encourage you. Don't be so hard on yourself. Set apart special time just for you and God. Learn to sit with Him and receive from Him in silence.
Your life will change when practice the discipline of silence and solitude. For it is here, when God has your undivided attention that you will discover His power at work in you.
Heidirn
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