Ever since I rededicated my life to Christ in 2015, spending time with God in the mornings before work became my thing. I’d wake up a bit earlier, put on worship music, talk to God, read my Apologetics Study Bible (an amazing Bible for us newbies), and journal. I started calling it my “QT time with the Holy Spirit”, and it changed my life in more ways than I could have imagined. It definitively deepened the relationship I was developing with God, and it produced changes within me that I had longed for for so long.

But I didn’t realize that I didn’t have enough appreciation for how it was benefiting my daily life – until a few months ago.

Cue the rewind sound effect.

So a couple of months ago, I randomly started biting my tongue in my sleep. Weird right? Anyway, I’d bite down so hard sometimes that I could taste a bit of blood. The bite would startle me and I’d wake up with such vivid feelings of anxiousness and fear, but there was nothing to feel anxious about necessarily. I was also feeling unusually unsettled during the day. This was happening every day for about a week, and while talking to a co-worker about it, she asked me if anything was on my mind and I said no (with such genuine confusion). Then she asked me to think about what has changed ever since I started biting my tongue and feeling anxious… and it hit me! I’d stopped spending time with God in the mornings like I was doing before.

Because I was going to bed so late the nights before, I’d snooze my alarm so many times in the morning, and by the time I had to get up and start getting ready for work, it would leave no time for God before starting my day. I wasn’t realizing that with each passing day I was getting farther and farther away from God. I was slowly slipping away and God was trying to get my attention. 

The next morning, I spent time with God again and everything went back to normal. My peace was back and I’ve never bitten down on my tongue since! Needless to say I’m thankful it happened so I could snap out of it.

That experience really made me aware of how important it is to have God pour into me every morning. I suddenly had a new appreciation for my Quiet Time with God. Spending time with Him is not for Him – it’s for our own benefit. It’s our opportunity to connect with the One who freely offers peace, joy, comfort, healing, guidance, and so much more to those who seek Him and are willing to go after it.

While we know (theoretically) that spending time with Him is important, there will always be moments in life where things gets busy, or we simply don’t feel like it in the moment. But that’s the thing; we have to be willing to seek Him no matter what. No matter how we feel at the time. No matter how much time we have or don’t have. Yes, life gets crazy busy sometimes. We’re being pulled in a million different directions with multiple things calling for our attention – work, kids, spouses, friends, prior commitments.  We’ve all been there. But the busyness of life is exactly why we have to be intentional about making time for God above all else. That’s the only way we’ll be able to remain at peace, level-headed, (and sane) in the midst of everything that’s going on around us.

Jeremiah 29:13 lets us know: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When you prioritize God everything else will fall into place. And in the meantime, He’ll give you an overwhelming peace that’ll humble you, and baffle those around you who know what you’re going through.

Matthew 6:33 is a great reminder: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Even one week without spending time with Him makes a huge difference in my life (just ask my tongue). Without Him I’m restless, easily overwhelmed, less patient with people, more irritable, have a “glass-half-empty” perspective … the list could go on and on. He’s our Daily Bread for a reason. Much like we need food every day to survive, we need to be fed by the Holy Spirit every day to truly live.

Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

After having an amazing encounter with God, seeking Him is much easier because a curiosity usually follows being wrecked by His touch.  That’s the easier part. The harder part is maintaining the momentum afterwards – that requires greater effort. That’s where the real work begins. It takes dedication, and it requires being intentional about your commitment.  

Jesus deserves the best of our time, not just the time we have to spare. Whatever we need to forego to make time for God is worth it in the grand scheme of things. The day I decided to sacrifice an hour of extra sleep in the mornings to spend time with God before work was the day that things started to truly change in my walk, and in my life. Outside of deciding to accept Jesus as my Savior, spending regular time in God’s presence was the most fruitful decision I’ve made thus far (all puns intended)!

Indulge in Him.

XO

#Mood

This rendition of “Fill Me Up” really stirs the atmosphere for me.

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