Conquering Quiet Times {Day 1}

Confession:  I have a long history of stinking at following through with my quiet times.
Oh, I have great intentions and lofty goals:
I will spend one hour each morning in God’s Word.  
I will pray every morning for every single person on my prayer list.  
I will make a prayer list.  
I will start with this devotional and then read that book and then open the Bible and then journal while listening to worship music.  
And the sun will shine just perfectly through the window and illuminate my Bible and I will feel oh-so-holy.  
Every day.

And then the alarm clock rings and I roll over and somehow wake up an hour later {still exhausted!?!} to the baby crying and work calling and life happening.  And the Bible stays in it’s spot, looking all pretty on my nightstand.
And I sigh in defeat and get swallowed up by my never-ending to-do-list.
The thing is, a few mornings, weeks, months like that, all in a row, tend to make a soul weary.  And the truth of the matter is, we were not meant to face each day on our own.
{I’m going to break total blog etiquette right now and quote a quote.  But it’s so relevant that it has to be done.}

Jessica Turner, one of my favorite bloggers, just wrote about this very thing.  She was inspired by a quote from one of her devotional readings, Streams in the Desert:

You cannot expect to be victorious, if the day begins only in your own strength. Face the work of every day with the influence of a few thoughtful, quiet moments with your heart and God. Do not meet other people, even those of your own home, until you have first met the great Guest and honored Companion of your life–Jesus Christ.

That first line is what pierces my heart. I cannot expect to be victorious in my own strength. Not even for a day.

So many days I try to face the day on my own.  Most of those days I go to bed feeling like a failure, upset with myself or others for getting in the way of my giant list of things that need to be done.

But the days that I start with Jesus?  It doesn’t seem to matter how much I do – I go to bed in peace, happily knowing who and Whose I am.

It matters, that quiet time spent with the Lord in the early morning hours.  It matters.

Like I mentioned before, I’m not the poster child for consistency here.  But as I have realized the absolute necessity of spending time with my God every day, I’ve found some tips and tools that have helped me.  And as I’ve put these things into practice, it has been easier for me to make a habit of carving out that morning time.

So join me this week as we are honest with ourselves, laugh at our failures, and make some do-able plans that we can put into place right away. 🙂  Because when it’s all said and done, spending time with Him is the only way we will have gotten to know Him.  And knowing Him is really what it’s all about.

Leave a Reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.