i like reading devotionally and journaling about it afterwards. but i am always looking for new ways to keep things fresh and interesting. because sometimes what i've always done doesn't seem to work. . . i don't seem to be connecting with God. so i take a break, and feel immensely guilty, and then realize the sky has not fallen in. . . and God still loves me and i still want to connect with Him.
and then i call friends and confess, and i hear "you have to keep having quiet times - whether or not they seem to be working because it's the right thing to do." ok, not helpful.
(personal note: i have quit confessing to these friends)
or i hear "hmmmmmmmmm, i don't know what to tell you - i'm right there too." ok, not helpful as well, but i am feeling better. . .
one of the things i've noticed is that people are a lot more open to talking about the fact that they don't have regular quiet times. i've had friends in the past who wouldn't eat breakfast until they spent time in the word. there was a kind pride in what one had to go through to accomplish a daily devotion, recounted with a certain amount of feigned humilty. one didn't admit to not spending time with God. INSTEAD - one went to extraordinary lengths to make sure one didn't have to admit to not spending time with God.
today i hear just the opposite. . . in fact i hear more than 'i'm not reading my bible regularly" - i hear "i don't have a quiet time and i don't actually miss it cuz i wasn't sure what was supposed to be happening anyways. . . "
a lot of young moms have told they don't have time - ok, i get that! but when i probe a little deeper i find that they usually feel like the "i wasn't sure what was supposed to be happening" thing. ok, it's hard to schedule something into an already jam-packed, child-filled, plans-may-run-amok-at-any-momemt sort of day anyways - let alone if you really don't see the value of that something. yes, there is guilt in not doing it - but there is also a missing value. . .
i want to recommend Larry Osborne's Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us. in his first chapter he challenges us to consider how people got to know God before there were printing presses. . . and how do people who don't read or don't read well have any chance this side of heaven of knowing God now. . . hmmmm, good questions. . .
so i'm asking - how do you (yeah, you reading this blog) get to know God?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great question--love it! We could have a whole section of the blog on this topic alone!
ReplyDeleteI often get stuck on this question in my own life. Some people say you should just read the Bible, not books about the Bible. But reading just the Bible gets so dry for me--I practically shrivel up like a raisin. I love sound theology books that reference the Word heavily and press me to apply those truths to my life. But when the book is over I feel stuck until another great book comes along. Something inside tells me it should be about simply being with Jesus--however we can achieve that. I got that idea out of Ben Patterson's Deepening Your Conversation With God: "just being with him is enough".
i have grown through reading scripture during my quiet times - but i have also grown when discussing theology. yes, i said "discussing." i've also grown during times of service, where a group of us are doing a service project for someone in need. . . i your quote is what the whole hinges on "just being with him is enough."
ReplyDelete