Earlier last week, I felt prompted to pause and read my bible. My gut response was to reluctantly put down what I was holding and pick up my bible, which was close by. There’s a corner in my home with bean bags, pillows, and a blanket where I usually read my bible and do listening prayer, but today I avoided it because sometimes I’m there for an hour. I didn’t have an hour. Today was a flip-to-some-random-page-skim-it-and-pray-something-relevant sort of day.
Two problems; first, I had forgotten the privilege of hearing God’s voice and second, I was moving too fast for God. (I also am just as “in danger” of being in the Word and in God’s presence for an hour at my desk as compared to my usual spot, there actually only being a locational difference of eight feet.) The first one was obvious as this wave of conviction fell over me, but the second was subtle. I hadn’t realized that in my “busyness”, I had slowly pushed God out of my routine. I was not faster than God, but I was moving at a pace in which God became a second or lower thought.
I knew God was the highest priority, but that wasn’t reflected in how I had been giving Him my time these past few weeks. I was convicted; even if my time with God did end up being for an hour, an hour there would be better than an hour anywhere else.
So, in this busy Christmas season – between dinners, family gatherings, and festive activities – take a moment to pause, read the Word, and wait on His presence in the present, even for five minutes. (And there’s nothing wrong with flip-to-some-random-page-skim-it-and-pray-something-relevant, it’s your thought that counts.)