We often talk about spending time with God, but it's one of those things that can easily feel like a chore, something that we have to do rather than yearning to do. It's not that we don't want to connect with God. No doubt we long for greater intimacy with Him. But then why does that quiet time still feel like a chore?
Perhaps it's because that time doesn't feel productive. We don't come away with a profound insight about God or ourselves. We don't get immediate answers to our deepest questions, so that time can feel pointless, like we're wasting time we could otherwise use more productively. It just doesn't feel like an efficient use of our time.
But, as David Benner points out, "productivity and efficiency miss the point. What God wants is simply our presence, even if it feels like a waste of potentially productive time. That is what friends do together - they waste time with each other. Simply being together is enough without expecting to "get something" from the interaction. It should be no different with God." (The Gift of Being Yourself, p.19)
I wonder how our perspective of quiet time would change if we stopped looking for the payoff and instead looked at it like spending time with a close friend. What if we stopped carrying an expectation of getting something from Him and instead simply came with a longing to be with Him?
This week, try approaching your quiet time like you're coming to hang out with a friend, and see how that changes your perception of that time.
No comments:
Post a Comment