spring quarter has started and reality has set in. in 365 days i will be a college graduate. whoa. in honor of growing up my sleep cycle has gone from insomniac to sleep like a baby. this is fantastic because i can concentrate in class now and nap time isn't so frustrating because i actually fall asleep. however, i have lost a lot of quiet time spent with God. there is something slightly eerie about the hours of 1, 2, and 3 am. laying wide awake in the dark and utter silence led me to prayer. lots and lots of prayer.
Like the psalmist says,
"You're my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your Word to renew me." -Psalm 119:114
it was so convenient. i could just lay in bed for hours, awake and communing with my Lord of Lords. now i must take initiative in spending quiet time with God. this has posed a challenge because i find it so hard to step out of the noise of this world and enjoy a moment of silence. why wouldn't i rather watch american pie (the latest netflix to arrive!) with my boyfriend and eat ice cream than sit in silence and read my bible? well, because Jesus instructs us, as his people, to pursue him in silence.
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace." -Matthew 6:6
if this doesn't give us every reason to seek a quiet place to study His word, to commune with Him, then nothing will. participating in a quiet time with God strips us of any pride or attitude we may feel in the presence of others. entering alone into the presence of God with no one else watching, knowing, enjoying we are afforded the opportunity to feel His grace fall upon us. what a blessing. we take the focus off of ourselves, off of our feeble little lives, and place it on the King of Kings who made all that preceded us and all that is to come.
be encouraged as you seek a place and time where you can experience Him in quietness. and remember what it says in Lamentations 3:26: "It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God." have hope as you are working to establish this in your routine. it will take time and practice. and i can promise (as i am learning!) it will be a time management challenge. but well worth it as you will receive help from him.
song of the day: just listen to the song of the earth that He has created. experience quiet.
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