Quiet Time … For You
Open the gates to all who are righteous;
allow the faithful to enter.
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:2-3
Over the years, I have struggled with the concept of finding peace. When I was younger, I often wanted to find things to do. Whether playing with friends, reading a book, or finding my favorite show, there was always something that I wanted to be involved in. “Mom, I’m bored,” I would say. Even as I grew older, there was always something of interest whether it be work or similar endeavor. However, with the invention of smart phones, it has made access to my attention span maybe too intensive. Add in the grandchildren (we are currently standing pat at 10 😊), and you have a recipe for a nonending challenge to find a moment of mental rest this summer. Half of the grandchildren started school this week in GA, and that has made life a bit calmer for me. In this moment, there has been an ‘a ha’ moment. Finding quiet moments in the day is indeed peaceful. Sitting down without your phone or smartwatch and just hearing … nothing … can be incredibly powerful.
This had made me wonder about how I find time for God. When you have a heightened level of interactivity in your life, it can be a major challenge to do that. Yes, there are apps on phones nowadays that help you find God, but amid all the other things going on, can one really find that time? The simple answer is yes, but the real question is will I prioritize that time to ensure that it happens. As someone who has both grown and now built up that heightened level of interactivity, I have learned that to do those things most important, I must simply prioritize my time, and the one thing I now have learned to make a priority is for quiet time to focus on God.
It is paramount that we make time to exclusively focus on God to find peace. It is rare that any of us who are Christian do not find comfort in God’s word or prayer time to Him. It sounds extremely basic and easy to understand, but why is it such a struggle at times to find it? If you are like me, life happens. One of my adult children will have a problem where my wife and I must come to their rescue. Our days off can often be hit with having to care for one of the grandchildren. Work will have a deadline where I need to put in extra time to get a project done. You even have friends that you want to spend time with, and our schedules align only every so often. These are in many cases good problems to deal with, and yet with each minor change to my schedule and routine, it becomes particularly challenging to either find my regular rhythm or adapt to a newer one. This is where life is hard, and we must reevaluate where we are and what changes to make sure the things that matter do not suffer. Today’s verses are a reminder of why it is important to prioritize. The words, “Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter,” resonate because on a broader scale, it is not limited to just people. Rituals and things to follow through to build connectivity with God keeps our journey of faith on path and are things we must ‘allow to enter.’ These disciplines of prioritizing those people and things that are ‘righteous’ and ‘faithful’ both guide us toward what we need to do and aide us to maintain ‘perfect peace.’
Finding time with God is a practice and not a chore. To really have peace, it requires our being diligent in making things work and choosing to either reduce or cut out entirely things that may have the short-term benefit but detract us from those things having long term value. Previously, I spoke about being quiet so that we can hear God. Today, I am urging we create an environment to better connect with to God. So, let us apply the words of Isaiah to not only people but also things in our life that give will allow, “perfect peace (for) all who trust in you.” What are the challenges you encounter when finding time for God. What good practices can you implement to protect time with Him? My prayer is that we dedicate ourselves to both organizing and prioritizing quiet time for God. Amen.