Have you ever had a pastor or friend tell you to listen to God's voice? I mean, obviously early on in my walk it was something I struggled with. Only biblical prophets heard God's voice. Surely I'm not the only one. Even later in my walk, though, I had a hard time understanding the concept of "hearing" what the Lord was telling me. I had this vision of God using signs to tell me things. Like, billboards. Quit giggling. God does work that way in some circumstances, and I figured I was always working multiple jobs so a billboard would be perfect. I was always in the car.
Fast forward to my early mommy days (I'm still in my early mommy days, but earlIER). I loved it when I attended women's bible studies. You know what I didn't love? When these seasoned mommas would say, "we MUST have quiet time with the Lord". These women were nuts! I have babies! They wake up early, that means I must wake up early! You want me to get up at 4:30am and have some quiet time? 1 is nursing in the middle of the night, so I'm already sleep deprived anyway. In the evenings before bed? Sha! I can barely hold my eyes open to spend "time" with Mr. Smash much less read my bible.
In the book of Samuel we learn that this boy whose momma gave him to the Lord as she promised, starts to really mature as an upcoming leader in the temple. The Lord speaks to Samuel in chapter 3, and it takes him a good while to figure it out. He's actually laying in bed and runs to His mentor thinking he's being summoned. Samuel does it several times before he realizes that it's the Lord summoning him. What I realized... Samuel was laying down. Like, getting ready to go to sleep. He was still. Probably quiet.
EEEEE GADS! That's it! I need to be still and quiet! Wait, what? A SAHM of littles to be still and quiet. I mean, I'm still and quiet when I go to bed, but as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out. Maybe if God spoke to me in dreams. That wouldn't work because I'd want to sleep all the time so I could hear him, and my children will NOT have that nonsense.
For the past 2 years or so I've yearned to simplify my life. When we moved to our farm it was a great opportunity because I knew I would be so busy with animal and land maintenance that I would need to get rid of the unnecessary. So, I have. I have simplified. We still have too much "stuff", but I'm talking simplifying more of my mind. What is really important? I want to be able to "the dishes can wait", rather than "I'll sit down when the kitchen is all clean and the floor is swept and mopped". It's not easy though. It seems everything must get done before I have quiet time. That's ridiculous!
Jesus gave up His life for me and I can't find 10 minutes in 24 hours to sit and read my bible??!!! A lady said that in a bible study class once and the guilt hovered over me. That wasn't her intention, and I knew her heart. But still.
This is what I've discovered. Because I've been able to simplify a bit and re-prioritize my lists, I find time for my Jesus. Not every morning I sit in my chair and read my bible, BUT I sure do it before I blog. Some days I'm in constant time with my Jesus because prayers are flowing off my lips all day (it may or may not be directly correlated to the amount of whining my kids are doing). There are some days I fall asleep to praise music because I'm so exhausted, and my Jesus knows that.
Whatever your season or stage of life, find time to be with our amazing Father. He loves it no matter how much or what kind of time. However, I encourage you to find QUIET time with our amazing Father. It's in those moments you can hear His voice. The noises of every day life will easily drown out His words. Whether it's in your bathroom closet and just you, the Lord, and a candy bar; or the stairwell at work for 3 minutes. That quiet and still will open your heart and your ears to what He's been trying to tell you.
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