At some point today, if you’ve scrolled through social media, you’ve seen someone share their perfect set up for their quiet time. There’s probably a candle, a cute mug of coffee or tea, a few accessories, those really good pens, and the perfect bible page. The picture looks quiet, peaceful, and perfect for spending time with God. You have things to do, kids running around, or whatever life has to offer so you think you can’t have this time with God. This is all lies. God isn’t waiting for you to have the perfect time for Him. In fact, that’s an idolatry in itself.
We worry more about the look and feel of our atmosphere than the quality of time we put into our relationship with God himself.
To have a relationship with someone means that you know them, not just know about them. We each know about a lot of people. Denzel, Justin, Taylor, Paul, etc. There are plenty of people that we know about but that doesn’t mean we know them. Do you have their phone number? Can you email them and get a response? Have you been to their home? Have they cooked dinner for you? Have you prayed together? If you cannot answer yes to those questions, then you probably don’t know them. Do you require the perfect atmosphere to get to know a friend or deepen a relationship? Just like your friend doesn’t need a candle, coffee, and a cozy blanket...God doesn’t either.
The Bible is a book about God. We learn about Him, his attributes and characteristics, and His plan. When we want to deepen our relationship with God, we can go straight to scripture and learn more about Him. We don’t even have to share every detail about ourselves. He’s the one who formed you. He’s the one who knit you together. He’s the Alpha and Omega. He knows us. Which that statement is equal parts scary and amazing. That even in our sin, Jesus died for us. Romans 8:5 tells us “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” So this tells us that even though we are sinners, He is still concerned with us. Now we must be concerned about Him. How do we do that? We study His word. His word gives us more knowledge about who He is and what He requires of us. From this knowledge, we can put it into action. We want to know more than just who He is, but we take the knowledge we gain and put it into a working relationship with Him.
Does your seating have to be perfect? No. Obviously, we’re more likely to continue to do something when we’re comfortable and enjoy it. So that cup of coffee and your bible for your morning routine...there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with a great atmosphere. The situation can turn into an issue when we’re focused more on the atmosphere than on the subject at hand. We should find what works for us, without making it an idol, and stick with it.
Social media, specifically Instagram, can make quiet time look like it must be perfect. If you have kids, they need to be elsewhere because how can your time be quiet if your children, who are gifts from the Lord, are awake and living in your home? What if we were a generation of mothers that allowed our children to witness our time with the Lord? What if we were moms raising a generation to love spending time with the Lord? Our children, along with the ones in our lives, are witnesses to what we believe. If we believe we should spend time studying scripture, how will our children learn to do it for themselves if we only study when they are in bed or school?
These are serious questions for us to consider when we plan our study time. Sure there are moments when the topic is heavy and kids are potentially not mature enough to learn. There are moments when we are studying deeply and need to pay attention a little more. But there are so many moments when we can study with our children playing at our feet, with our friends surrounding our table, with life happening.
However you study, I pray you let your guard down and let the need for perfection go and dive into studying. No matter what is going on, know that you can run to God and His word and find calm in the chaos.
Guest post by: Lacey Rabalais