Hello, Lovelies!
Welcome to yet another blog post.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been debating and going back and forth on posting about this particular topic because I have not been perfect in this area, but God reminded me that I am here as an authentic, honest, truthful, and vulnerable person, who’s just walking by faith in this life and doing the best they can every day. I have struggled in this area and I know I am not alone, I hope today’s post will help you feel less alone as well.
Today, we will be talking about quiet time with God.
It wasn’t until I got the revelation that God has called me to be in a relationship with Him, that I got to understand the importance of quiet time. I was one of those people who thought that you could only fellowship with God while at church, and you can’t just come to Him like that, you had to clean yourself up and get yourself together for Him to attend to you.
But this is not true.
God’s love is infinite, He knows us more than we know ourselves, all parts of us, even the icky ones that we never want anyone to know about, and guess what, He loves us regardless and longs to have an open relationship with us. When fellowshipping with Him, God doesn’t want a façade, He wants you as you are, and He’s more than ready to accept, embrace and spend time with you, flaws and all.
'Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. '
2 Corinthians 3:17
Why quiet time?
I’ll go back to what I said earlier about relationship.
For a relationship to become stronger, there’s got to be investment from both parties. In this case, God is 100% invested, for us, we have to battle our flesh, distractions, responsibilities, feelings of guilt, pain, etc, all of which can be a hindrance to true authentic fellowship.
Since you are in a relationship with God, the only way it will get stronger is when you spend time with Him. You get to know Him more in these spaces and get familiar with His voice, you get to conform to His likeness and He continuously molds you to become all He created you to be.
Let’s use an example in friendship. The more time you spend with a friend, the more you know about them, their mannerisms, their likes/dislikes, their voice, and you even find yourself emulating their habits and conforming to their thought patterns. It’s no different with God.
There will be times you REALLY don’t feel like praying or reading your bible, just like there will be times when your friend gets on your nerves and disappoints you and you don’t want to forgive, reconcile or extend grace, but this is where discipline and intentionality come in, this is where we surrender our flesh and say no to distractions and just block out time to be with God, this is when we remember WHY we set out time just for Him.
During our quiet times:
1. We allow God to draw near and pour back into us.
The word of God says, 'Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 'James 4:8.
The more you draw near to Him, the more He draws near to you. Ever seen that meme that says something like ‘when we feel God is far, it’s us who moved, not Him’ Whether or not we spend time with Him, He’s always gonna be there, but the more you spend time with Him the more AWARE you will be of His presence.
Secondly, we’re living life and as we go about our business, we get depleted sometimes. Quiet time is a space for God to pour back into your cup so that you can pour into others as well. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup!
2. We get clarity and direction for our lives
· Every day, we are presented with choices, and we can often find ourselves in a dilemma on what to do. When we silence the noise and all the things that pull our attention, we get to clearly hear God’s voice. Through His speaking words, in His word, or even in a worship song. God sees more than just the surface, something may look good on the outside but God knows the heart behind it, allow Him to reveal it to you.
3. We have a place to be real, free, authentic and to lay all the things that weigh us down
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
· You know those difficult seasons when on the outside you’ve got to plaster on a smile, be strong, pretend everything is fine and be on survival mode for the sake of others when inside you’re falling apart? Well, this quiet time is a space for you to just pour out your heart, be vulnerable, and cast whatever is weighing you down on Him, as it says in 1 Peter 5:7 'Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. It doesn’t matter what it is, He can handle it.
4. We simply get to delight in Him
· Aside from getting to lay our requests and prayers to God, we can have these quiet times just because. Because He is worthy, Because He is good, Because He supplies peace that is beyond understanding, Because NOTHING in this world will ever suffice or come near to the satisfaction that comes from fellowshipping with God. He created us and knows us best therefore He knows how to best meet our needs.
In conclusion, I know life can get busy and crazy. I know at times the trials and tribulations we face can make us angry and hard-hearted toward Him, that we don’t want to spend time with Him. But I challenge you to get back to the basics, to the simplicity of the heart of worship, to fellowship with Your Father. And remember, You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you as it says in Philippians 4:13
I’m going to do part two of this topic, which will be the next post, to give y’all practical tips on how to be consistent and effective in your quiet times with God.
As we look forward to that, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this week’s post and will go ahead and make an effort to intentionally set out time in your day to spend exclusively with God.
Feel free to shoot me a dm, e-mail, or comment down below your feedback, questions, and anything else.
Also, feel free to subscribe with your email address so that you get notified anytime I post and you could also share this on your socials, with a friend or anyone you think might need it.
I appreciate you being here!
Xoxo
BK :)
Comentários