Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all who 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."
This morning as I was having my quiet time my husband kept encroaching on my space with the Lord and I kept getting distracted with things that needed to be done and I felt like screaming for my own space just to be with the Lord. Then the Lord reminded me very quickly that I need to continue to feed from him with everything going on around me. He reminded me of the different seasons in life and the different stresses at different times, as a mother with children running around your feet, as a worker and the demands of full time work, whatever season you are in, that we still need to find that time to be alone with the Lord where it is just him and you in communion with each other, loving and being loved, where everything is laid bare before him, where all the stresses of life are handed over to him for him to come in and lead the way and carry the load. Where we find rest for our souls. This is always the place where I need to come to, where the burdens on my heart are replaced with his peace and rest and from that position so much is able to happen and does so with much more ease.
Last night in church there was a song sang that said "what we pay attention to that is what takes hold of you" It is so true. Over many years now for me I have often been up at 5 - 5:30am just so that I have a decent time just alone with the Lord before the busyness of the day (not 5 mins, for me it is rather a couple of hours at least) and then Kate's school schedule changed and she was in my space from 6am and so that time alone with the Lord has had to change too. Now it sometimes is not till everyone has gone to bed late at night or even sometimes the Lord will get me up at 3 in the morning just to spend time with me. Or it will be through the day wherever I can put that time aside. It is a discipline in my life that I try to make and find the space for, because without my time with the Lord I know my world just collapses around me, stresses come in and the whole house suffers if I find I haven't had my time with the Lord.
I share this with you not to boast or put pressure on you to do the same. As I said above what we pay attention to is what takes a hold of you. I was choosing this discipline to spend time with the Lord and in his word and initially I certainly didn't spend the amount of time I do with him now, it has grown over time where now a couple of hours is nothing and I long for more with him. I know for myself if I don't spend this time with him, then the other things in my life become a bigger focus than God and quickly my faith for certain things to happen just isn't there, as I have made the Lord smaller than the situation that needs a breakthrough, of which he is more than able to bring if I allow him to.
I have noticed too over the years how my time with him has changed. There is no formula how you spend time with the Lord and like the seasons above I am learning there are seasons in what happens with my time with the Lord. Whether its reading the word and praying, whether its just listening to music soaking allowing him to speak to me, whether its processing a dream he has given me, whether its reading huge chunks of his word in one sitting, whether its playing the guitar, speaking in tongues, or whatever form it may take, my communion/fellowship with the Lord is varied as my relationship has many faucets with him. It may even be listening to teaching while baking a cake. As long as I find time to 'hear' from the Lord and to 'hand' things over to him it doesn't matter to me what shape that may take, sometimes it may even be watching a movie that will speak to me. I have chosen to make him my focus and in the busyness of life I continue to find the time to make Him my focus because without him I am nothing, I can do nothing, but with Him I can do everything through Him who gives me strength!
Lord help us to find that time 'alone' with you in the busyness of life where you feed us your heavenly mana for the day, where our daily bread, our provision comes from you. Thank you Jesus that you are more than able to take care of every need we have, every situation that we are facing, that you give us strength where we have no strength and Lord I ask that for each person today that you would come into their world and in their situations and bring your rest and peace to whatever they may be facing. Thank you Lord!
This morning as I was having my quiet time my husband kept encroaching on my space with the Lord and I kept getting distracted with things that needed to be done and I felt like screaming for my own space just to be with the Lord. Then the Lord reminded me very quickly that I need to continue to feed from him with everything going on around me. He reminded me of the different seasons in life and the different stresses at different times, as a mother with children running around your feet, as a worker and the demands of full time work, whatever season you are in, that we still need to find that time to be alone with the Lord where it is just him and you in communion with each other, loving and being loved, where everything is laid bare before him, where all the stresses of life are handed over to him for him to come in and lead the way and carry the load. Where we find rest for our souls. This is always the place where I need to come to, where the burdens on my heart are replaced with his peace and rest and from that position so much is able to happen and does so with much more ease.
Last night in church there was a song sang that said "what we pay attention to that is what takes hold of you" It is so true. Over many years now for me I have often been up at 5 - 5:30am just so that I have a decent time just alone with the Lord before the busyness of the day (not 5 mins, for me it is rather a couple of hours at least) and then Kate's school schedule changed and she was in my space from 6am and so that time alone with the Lord has had to change too. Now it sometimes is not till everyone has gone to bed late at night or even sometimes the Lord will get me up at 3 in the morning just to spend time with me. Or it will be through the day wherever I can put that time aside. It is a discipline in my life that I try to make and find the space for, because without my time with the Lord I know my world just collapses around me, stresses come in and the whole house suffers if I find I haven't had my time with the Lord.
I share this with you not to boast or put pressure on you to do the same. As I said above what we pay attention to is what takes a hold of you. I was choosing this discipline to spend time with the Lord and in his word and initially I certainly didn't spend the amount of time I do with him now, it has grown over time where now a couple of hours is nothing and I long for more with him. I know for myself if I don't spend this time with him, then the other things in my life become a bigger focus than God and quickly my faith for certain things to happen just isn't there, as I have made the Lord smaller than the situation that needs a breakthrough, of which he is more than able to bring if I allow him to.
I have noticed too over the years how my time with him has changed. There is no formula how you spend time with the Lord and like the seasons above I am learning there are seasons in what happens with my time with the Lord. Whether its reading the word and praying, whether its just listening to music soaking allowing him to speak to me, whether its processing a dream he has given me, whether its reading huge chunks of his word in one sitting, whether its playing the guitar, speaking in tongues, or whatever form it may take, my communion/fellowship with the Lord is varied as my relationship has many faucets with him. It may even be listening to teaching while baking a cake. As long as I find time to 'hear' from the Lord and to 'hand' things over to him it doesn't matter to me what shape that may take, sometimes it may even be watching a movie that will speak to me. I have chosen to make him my focus and in the busyness of life I continue to find the time to make Him my focus because without him I am nothing, I can do nothing, but with Him I can do everything through Him who gives me strength!
Lord help us to find that time 'alone' with you in the busyness of life where you feed us your heavenly mana for the day, where our daily bread, our provision comes from you. Thank you Jesus that you are more than able to take care of every need we have, every situation that we are facing, that you give us strength where we have no strength and Lord I ask that for each person today that you would come into their world and in their situations and bring your rest and peace to whatever they may be facing. Thank you Lord!
