How to actually enjoy your quiet time
‘How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.’ — Psalm 119:103
‘Praying and reading your Bible won’t make you more Christian. And not doing these things won’t make you less of a Christian... But how much we enjoy that communion depends on what we do.’ — Tim Chester
I love my morning coffee.
It’s something I genuinely treasure each day. And even though it takes a while to make, the joy is worth it.
When we love something, like I love a coffee, we long for it. It doesn't feel like a chore; it's easy to do because you want to do it.
I know that I should love meeting God in His Word much more than I love a hot drink. But if I ever have to pick between making my coffee or spending time with God in the morning, so often the coffee wins. Why is that?
Why don’t we love spending time with God like we know we should?
Guilt doesn’t lead to love
In Jesus, we have been fully forgiven. We truly are set free from sin. But until He returns to make all things new, we still struggle against sin.
That’s why we find it so hard to do what we know we should love, and why so many things feel easier or more fun than setting aside time each day to meet with God. It’s hard to resist the temptation to choose our comfort, ease, and enjoyment over spending time with Him.
When we inevitably succumb to that temptation, we end up feeling guilty about not reading God’s Word—and then we find it even harder to open our Bibles.
Alternatively, our guilt becomes our motivation to spend time with God. We know we should read the Bible, and we feel like God will be disappointed in us if we don’t. So, we do it out of duty, not delight.
God doesn’t want either of these things.
A treasure to enjoy, not a chore to endure
There’s nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less. We are not a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ Christian based on whether we’ve read our Bible today or not.
If we trust in Jesus, we have been completely forgiven of all our sins—past, present and future. We can come to our Father freely without guilt or shame, because all our sin has been taken away.
In love, He has given everything of Himself to us—and He longs for us to respond by giving everything of ourselves to Him.
When we start by remembering God’s love for us, meeting with Him will become a treasure, not a chore.
And it truly is a treasure! The God who made the universe has given us a physical book, inspired by His Spirit, to make Himself known to us. He speaks through His Word to tell us how He has always been working to make a way for us to have a relationship with Him.
An invitation, not an obligation
God has given us the gift of His Word as an invitation to know Him more.
Whenever we open our Bibles, He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. He longs to show us the best way to live in the world He has made. He wants to help us grasp the height and depth of His love. He loves to hear our response in worship and prayer.
And as we read, He delights in transforming us to become more like His Son.
As we delight in hearing God speak to us, and as our hearts are warmed by His love and acceptance, our love for Him will grow. Like the writer of Psalm 119, we will develop a taste for God’s Word—it will become the sweetest thing to us!
So, when you start your next quiet time, lay down any guilt or distractions. Ask the Spirit to quiet your heart and show you the joy of the gospel as if it were the first time hearing it.
Approach God as your loving Father who longs to be with you.
Pastors love illustrating this point with this picture of the President, John F. Kennedy, sitting at his desk in the Oval Office with his son, JFK Junior, sitting at his feet.
Despite the bodyguards and the layers of security, one little boy had full and complete access to the most important man in the world. He was free to sit at the feet of his loving father.
How much more does your Heavenly Father long for you to sit at His feet each day? To show you His love and shape you to become more like Him?
He is inviting you to meet Him in His Word. Today, will you meet Him there?
With love,
Ruth