Having a quiet time with God should not be irrelevant to your daily life.
Often, we talk about our “Meeting with God” or “Quite time” as if it is unrelated to the rest of the busy day we are facing. We speak of it as reading, learning, or doing something altogether different than what would be pertinent to our day. When did God ever say that He desired His Word and our meeting with Him to be a burden for us? He is too kind to be a burden. He is too loving to be irrelevant. He is too knowledgeable of your life to not avoid the details.
When we have our time with God on a daily basis, it should be something that impacts the rest of our day. If we are just reading something to accomplish a Bible reading plan, stay up with a recent book, or fulfill an obligation, our time with the Lord will be more obligatory than life-giving. It will be more legalistic than graceful. Our time with God should be something that flows from God’s Word and has an immediate application into our life.
Our time with God should include talking with Him about what is ahead in our day. It should be filled with thanksgiving for what He gave us the day before, but requests for His providence again on this day. We should be asking God how He would like us to handle an ensuing situation. In our meeting, we should receive the truth of His Word and the prompting of His Spirit as the directive. Akin to the meeting we have with our boss (but much more loving and relevant), we should walk away with clarity, direction, next actions and applicable truths.
Why do people love Jesus Calling? Because they feel it is relevant to their daily life. It makes Jesus personal, His Word applicable and it is not a legalistic chore to read, but rather provides grace, hope, and encouragement for the issues they are facing that day. I have nothing against Jesus Calling but I do have a bone to pick with boring (and therefore often avoided) quite times that are based on God’s Word. We should be able to read straight from the source and be deeply impacted by what we read, not confused on unaffected. While Jesus Calling may be a fine supplement, we should not always need a supplement to make the Bible relatable. It is relevant already.
Perhaps what is keeping us from being a habitual Bible reader is that we have not found it relevant to our life. However, this book is the only book that has lasted the test of time to be our textbook for life and godliness. It has relevance to every area of our life. It doesn’t read like an encyclopedia and you can’t type in your problem and search the pages like Google. But if you are willing to meet with God as you read it, He can show you the principles and precepts in its pages that are relevant to your life. He wrote the Bible as a textbook for life by applying its principles within the stories of others who lived before us. The various genres of the Bible do not hinder us from applying it to modern-day, but the stories and genres can assist us to find how it applied to those who went before us.
I want to invite you to join me on a 20/20 journey*. For the next 20 days, for at least 20 minutes a day, we will read our Bible and meet with God. This should include:
- Reading the Bible. Obvious, I know, but let’s start here. If you are looking for a place to begin reading, I recommend reading John, Philippians or a Psalm and Proverb of the day. You can also use the index to find a passage relevant to your life-matter today and then go read that passage in context. Whatever you do, just get in the Word. (download my free 20/20 Journey Gospel of John Reading Plan Workbook)
- Pray on what the Bible said. Now, review the passage by praying through it to the Lord. Ask Him to make it real and relevant to what you are facing right now.
- Apply the Bible immediate context. Write down 3-4 action items that you think pertain to your day today from your time in God’s Word and prayer. They should be specific, measurable (meaning you know when they are done), attainable, realistic and timely.
Abiding in Christ is applying the Words of Christ. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” he said. So, find time to be with Christ and meet with Him habitually and relevantly in your immediate context.
*Join the 20/20 Journey! Read through the Gospel of John in 20 days. Download your free 20/20 Journey Workbook HERE.
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