I have been working on a new project (that I’m really excited to share with you when the time comes!) and today I realized that I’ve not been spending as much time reading and studying the Word. I read a little bit in the morning, and I’ll spend time in prayer, but it’s not the same and not as intentional. That made me reflect a bit.
Is there a “minimum” amount of reading the Bible I must do each day to be “good enough”? Absolutely not! Is there a “minimum” amount of time I must spend in prayer or sitting in His presence to “do it right”? No way! With that knowledge, how do I navigate feeling like I’m missing something?
Have you ever felt like you’re missing out or like you need to spend more time in the Word than you currently are? First of all, condemnation does not come from the Lord (Romans 8:1) so get that out of your head. But in my opinion, what we are feeling is twofold; first, we must live and walk in “overflow”, second, we have a relationship with the Lord, if we aren’t spending enough time with Him, we miss Him. (“Enough time” will be relative and different for each person.)
When we live out our daily lives, we spend energy, attention, time, etc. When I write, I’m spending the things I’ve learned that the Lord has spoken to me. When we prepare for ministry, we are spending our time, when we sit and listen to a friend that needs help or prayer, we are spending time, attention, and speaking into their situation from what the Lord speaks to us. If our cup (metaphorical “cup”, if our lives, heart, spirit) is not overflowing from our time in the presence of the Lord, we will not have anything to give. How can we be good stewards of the Word, of our lives, of our giftings, if we do not first receive from the Lord?
We have a relationship with the Lord. I go back to the analogy of a husband and wife (or friendship) because it’s so fitting and applicable. If you are married and you just see your spouse in the morning, ignore them completely, then at the end of the day as you’re falling asleep you say, “Hey, thanks for everything today.” That relationship isn’t going to hold much weight and you’re going to miss that person. I think that’s what happens with our relationship with the Lord. We can get so busy “doing” all the things that either He has called us to do or things that we have placed on ourselves (that’s a whole other topic) that we forget that He is our Source.
This makes me think of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. Martha was busy around the house preparing for all of the things and people that were coming to the house. Mary was sitting at Jesus feet listening to what He was teaching. Yes, we are called to serve and there are things God has for us to do, there’s no doubt about that. However, Mary chose what was *better* for her at that moment. She was being filled in the presence of her Savior.
I encourage you today to put down your to-do list, surrender your pressing schedule, and get in the presence of the Lord. For how long, you ask? I don’t know, that’s between you and the Lord. Which scripture should you read, you ask? Again, I don’t know, that’s between you and the Lord. But be filled by Him, receive His anointing and blessing for today.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:33-34
Today, tomorrow, next week, every day holds a new “worry” and often something we didn’t even think about. If we will surrender our schedule and sit in His presence, get alone with the Lord and receive from His Word, sit still and worship Him, He will fill us with exactly what we need for today. Will we trust Him with that? Will we trust Him with our future, with our tomorrow, will we trust Him to fill us for today?
How do we apply this today? How do we make these changes? It’s a choice. You have a choice of waking up early or sleeping later. You have a choice of turning your phone off during the time you spend with Jesus or leaving it on for distractions. You have a choice of picking up your phone or leaving it there. The list goes on… I would encourage you to read Matthew 6 and let the Lord speak to your heart. Ask Him to show you how to live in overflow, ask Him to teach you, to change your heart, to challenge you. Then, walk in surrender and obedience to what He says.