Quiet Time

 By: Grace Metzger

But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I’ve heard this verse probably a million times before, heard sermon preached by various pastors. But lately the idea of quiet time has been my focus. I’m not great spending quality quiet time in the word. I spend hours every morning, night, and lunch breaks scrolling through social media, could spend hours watching Netflix. But spending time in the Word, I struggle to do this.

I’m not sure why I have these struggles, I just know that my mind finds it hard to quiet down and focus on God’s Word. My thoughts tend to race, I get busy thinking about all tasks I have to complete, all the things I procrastinated doing yesterday, all the cleaning I haven’t done in too long. I think this is human nature and something that doesn’t come easy to a lot of people.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
 He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.
Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

However just because it isn’t easy doesn’t mean it’s unimportant or impossible. I’ve always found, in my faith walk, at least, that the hardest, most painful tasks end up being the most incredible blessings. Because of this, I have made this my focus of the month. I want to learn not only how to spend quiet time with God but how to make it a part of my routine.

So I started trying to figure out how other people do it. The first three people who come to mind when I think of spending quiet time in the word is my mother, my great grandfather, and of course, Jesus. My mother and great grandfather, who I called Papa, spent every single morning reading the Bible. They’ve done this for as long as I can remember. I remember visiting Papa to see him sitting outside in his rocker, reading his Bible or a lot of the times just sitting in the quiet with God. With my mother, I could always bet that when I came into the kitchen in the morning she would be sitting there with her Bible open, notebook and pens out, and her fan blowing on her.

I started thinking about how they did it and came to one possible answer, they both made it apart of their routines years ago and kept to those routines. No matter what happened in life, no matter where they were, you could bet your life that they were going to be spending their mornings reading God’s Word.

I thought about how often the Bible talked about Jesus going to a quiet place to be with God. He too made it into a routine to get away from everyone, take a break with teaching, and spend time with His father.

So how can we start doing this? Well I think it’s the most obvious answer, make it apart of your routine! You have to be intentional with this, you have to ensure every day that you are carving this time out. What helps to remember to do is this is by having it be apart of your routine. Whether that means that before you sleep every night you spend time alone in God’s Word or maybe this means that every morning before you even leave your bed you spend time in the Word. Whatever this might look like to you is okay, as long as you’re actively taking time out of your day to do it.

I challenge you in this upcoming week to start carving out time for your Bible reading. It doesn’t have to be this three hour long thing, just find 5-10 minutes to start out where you can be free of distractions and can focus on the Word.

Cycle of Trust

 By: Lauren Thomas

When I sit across from women in my counseling office who have suffered betrayal, the question comes up: how do I rebuild trust in my relationship?

Though the answer to this question involves a repentant heart from the betrayer, building trust looks similar, whether it occurs after infidelity or at the beginning of a relationship.

 

That process is best explained by “the cycle of trust.” It works like this:

 

Need -> Need expressed -> Response to need -> Need Satisfied -> Comfort (Repeat)

 

Both parties are involved in this, as it builds reciprocally. As the cycle is completed successfully and consistently, over time, trust is built.

 

Sometimes, when a relationship has little trust, there is a breakdown somewhere in the cycle. Perhaps one party fails to express their need or does so in a way that is defensive or unkind. Perhaps the other party responds poorly to an expressed need. Either way, the cycle is disrupted.

 

Building trust with God follows a similar process. With God, we express our need. When He responds, our need is satisfied and comfort results.

 

It reminds me of the hymn, “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus”:

 

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!

 

The “proving” comes from completing the cycle of trust. Consistency over time yields more and more trust in our relationship with Jesus.

 

But what happens when we don’t trust him? What happens when His response to our need is delayed? What happens when we don’t feel satisfied with his response? What happens when we don’t feel comforted?

 

Because it will happen. There will be times that God’s answer is delayed. There will be times when God’s action isn’t according to our hopes and plans. There will be times when we will “feel” betrayed by Him.

 

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 gives us a beautiful picture of how to trust God when we feel the cycle of trust is broken. In this illustration, the rain is like the comfort we receive from God in the cycle of trust. When drought comes, instead of listening to anxiety or feeling betrayed by God, we put our roots down and drink from the water beneath us. This is the water that has accumulated over time. The trust we have already built. We remember, recall, recount the times that God has come through, the times that what we thought was delay was actually God preparing something even better for us. And thus, the fruit of our relationship with God continues to grow, because we trust Him despite what circumstances or our feelings would tell us.

 

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more!

 

Reflection:

How has your trust in Jesus grown? Journal about a time that your trust in God was momentarily broken. How was it restored? What was the result?

Avoiding Headline Anxiety

 

By: Donna Bucher

Headline stress disorder, the newest diagnosis for the anxiety occurring from reading today’s headlines surfaced recently. Perhaps, like me, you avoid watching or reading the daily headlines as a means of escaping heart palpitations or a sick feeling in your stomach.

But God provided a better avenue for taking the anxiety out of reading the headlines.

With the onset of 24/7 televised and internet news channels, we have unprecedented access to news anytime, anywhere. Add the participation of social media outlets, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook, and we find no easy escape from a daily dose of anxiety.

 

Certainly, the news is not for the faint of heart, but even the cynical soul encounters anxiety on a regular basis among the headline offerings of today’s news sources.

My personal discipline of skimming or avoiding the news altogether seldom protects me from anxious thoughts when everyone around me engages in fear-filled conversations.

In a world filled with turmoil, the Bible reminds us, in the world trouble abounds (John 16:33) but taking the anxiety out of reading the headlines happens when we also remember Jesus overcame the world and gives us His Peace.

While I tend towards hiding from daily news feeds, I know my avoidance tactic falls short of preventing news driven anxiety. As with any type of anxiety, hiding or avoiding the triggers creates more anxiety.

Yes, the news offers much in the way of tragedy, evil and sadness, but it also offers uplifting stories of triumph, human resilience, and amazing accomplishments in every field.

God desires we walk wisely as a light in this world keenly aware of the “signs of the times”.

From the reassurance of God’s Presence, He begins altering our perspective on news events, and we view them in a more helpful, prayerful way.

After calmly and mindfully sitting with God, relinquishing your anxiety, and troubling thoughts over the headlines, continue seeking His perspective and instruction. Listen for His instruction on how you must pray, or act, and avoid preoccupation with things over which you have no control.

Avoid preoccupation with news drama. (Psalm 131:1-2) The psalmist reminds us not to occupy ourselves with things “marvelous and wonderful”. His reference to the intricacies of theological hair splitting applies to avoiding the incessant preoccupation with all of the details of the news, feeding our anxiety.

Focus on God’s News. (Psalm 92:5-7) Spending more time in God’s Word than with news and social media feeds, fills our hearts and minds with the truth from God’s perspective and strengthens our reliance on God.

Acknowledge God as your only true hope. (Psalm 73:24-25) Taking the anxiety out of reading the headlines happens when we pursue God’s comfort in His Word, claiming the promises He has for us and seeking His guidance in troubling times.

Set your mind upon God not the news. (Isaiah 26:3-4) Rather than musing and wrestling with the news in your mind, set your mind on God, claiming His promised Presence Provision and Peace.

 

We live in troubled times, but we are not without hope. Jesus reminds us in Him we have Peace; we need not succumb to these troubled times nor allow fear to capture our hearts. (John 14:27)

Clinging to the Rock of your salvation, trusting His sovereign care and provision amid a world filled with turmoil, removes news induced anxiety. Freeing you instead to a place of rest and peace, where you view events through the lens of Scripture rather than fear.

Reflection:

What is your biggest struggle when it comes to reading news headlines?

What one step can you take today, to begin to trust God as you read the news headlines?

 

 

Find more encouragement and FREE Resources at Serenity in Suffering!

 

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Should We Pray for Patience?

By: Jenifer Metzger

Growing up in the church, I regularly heard the phrase "Don't pray for patience." I heard people say it and I heard pastors preach it. Even as an adult I've heard these four words spoken quite often.

Why would people say don't pray for patience? It's simple really. If you pray for patience, surely God will give you something to test those patience. So many think that it's basically praying for trials to come! Case in point, as a new believer my husband prayed for patience and later that week he was laid off from his job. He decided all those people warning against this prayer were right!

Then a few years ago, God was speaking to my husband about patience so he went to the Word where God led him right to the Fruits of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The law is not against such things.

Galatians 5:22-23 CSB

If patience is a Fruit of the Spirit, why would we not want to pray for it? We should desire to grow in all nine of the Fruits of the Spirit, including patience.

Recently I was having somewhat of a rough day. Dogs acting out, all the grandkids were over and quite cranky, and a lot to accomplish in the day. I felt the stress of it all and began to cry out, "God, give me patience!" I quickly caught myself and thought, "Oh no! What did I do? It's going to get worse!" But then I remembered that patience is a good thing and it is good to ask God to give it to us. So I cried out once again, "God, give me patience!" Dogs were still crazy, grandsons still cranky, and I still had a lot to accomplish. The difference was, I felt calmer, I felt better equipped to face what was going on in the moment. I felt more patient.

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy

and dearly loved, put on compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and

patience, bearing with one another and

forgiving one another if anyone has a

grievance against another. Just as the Lord

has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

Colossians 3:12-13 CSB

The Bible even tells us to put on patience. When I think of those two words put on, my mind automatically goes to putting on my shoes. I put on my shoes to prepare to leave my house. Something to protect my feet as I go on a walk. Something to protect me against the elements. Even while in my home, I put on slippers to protect my feet.

In the same sense, we need to put on patience. When we practice patience, we are protecting ourselves from whatever may thrown our way. Driving along and suddenly there is a major traffic jam, put on patience. Waiting in line at the grocery store and the clerk is taking too long, put on patience. The kids are acting out, put on patience. Your husband is late coming home from work, put on patience.

The enemy wants us to get riled up. He wants us to be impatience. So when we let everything get to us and begin to feel the tension of everything going on, we have two choices. One, we can play right into the enemy's hands and be impatient and all that comes with that -anger, yelling, fighting, crying, sadness, etc. Or two, we can put on patience and practice that Fruit of the Spirit and watch how we grow in the Fruits.

Praying for patience just might result in being tested, but what better way to know you are growing in the Fruits of the Spirit and in your walk with God. The more you pray for it, the more you are tested, the more you will grow.

Discussion:
1. Have you ever prayed for patience and then been tested in that area? What did you learn?
2. Does praying for patience sound scary? How can you ease the fear and move forward with this prayer?

Motherhood - It Isn't Mundane!

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Liana Mikah

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." ~1 Corinthians 10:31

As we began a mini series last week on the topic of motherhood and started traveling together through the Word to see God's actual design for motherhood, we first looked at the big-picture, overarching perspective for motherhood as being first a spiritual endeavor. We saw how, as they make and mother disciples, even single and childless women can be mothers. 

Today, we are going to continue along that vein of thinking, but expound on it for those women going through this series who do have children of their own whom they are caring for day in and day out. 

We hear all the time that we should "find meaning in the mundane". I even wrote a blog post encouraging moms to do just that several years ago. When I was then working on a book on motherhood a couple years later, however, I had what felt like a total epiphany: our message to moms should not merely be that they seek to find the meaning in the mundane, but to instead understand that motherhood is not even mundane at all when viewed through the lens of eternity and God's purpose for it.

What changed my thinking in this area was looking up the actual dictionary definition of the world "mundane" This is what I found:

 

• Lacking interest or excitement; dull.

• Of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.

Now, granted, cleaning the bathtub, dusting the baseboards, breaking up fights between siblings, and making what feels like the 10th meal of the day can sometimes feel a little dull and uninteresting. But, is it? And since when are we to merely rely on our feelings, anyway?

We already saw last week that the truth of the matter is that mothering is a spiritual endeavor. It is a high and holy calling for Christian women everywhere by which they disciple others to know, love, and follow Christ both here and now and also in eternity. That, my sweet mama friend, is anything but dull! That is terribly exciting if you think about it!

As for the second definition, the work of mothering quite obviously does pertain to eternity, to heaven, and to matters of spiritual importance, rather than mere earthly matters. So, basically....it's anything but mundane! We are talking about raising and discipling eternal souls here! The faithful work of mothering which we do day in and day out will have a lasting, eternal impact. It could be what God uses to make the difference between our children not following Christ and their actually choosing to follow Him. It could make the difference, when used by God, between our children going down destructive paths and them being people who seek to honor the Lord in all that they say and do. Pretty amazing, isn't it? 

You may be wondering, though...how am I supposed to take that nice concept and actually apply it to the nitty gritty of my days when all I see before me are a towering pile of laundry, food that needs to be made, a house that is a mess, and children that need to simmer down and stop throwing tantrums?  Great question! What we have to do is grasp the fact that this day – and everything we do in it! – truly is a building block for tomorrow and can be used to teach a valuable lesson. Here are some things I have begun to preach to myself at various times over the past several years when my days begin to feel a little mundane:

 

• When you have a newborn and are up at all hours feeding the baby, changing the baby, rocking the baby, calming and comforting the baby, etc., you are building love, trust, intimacy, and relationship between you and that little one which will serve as the very foundation for the rest of that child’s life. His or her understanding of what love, family, and home are all about are beginning to be formed now.

 

• When you have a toddler who stretches you in more ways than you could ever have imagined and it feels like your days are filled with little more than constant calls of “Mommy!!!”, whining (on both the part of your toddler as well as yourself!), temper tantrums, and craziness, and yet, in the midst of it all, you still shower that toddler with love, cuddles, read-alouds, and fun memories, you are laying yet another foundation in their lives – the foundation for their reciprocal love for you, their desire to obey and trust you and your parenting as they grow, because they will have felt and seen in a tangible way your unconditional love for them.

 

• When you kiss yet another booboo, you are instilling into the hearts of your little ones the knowledge that their Mama loves them deeply, is always concerned about them and their wellbeing, hurts when they hurt, and is interested in what interests them.

 

• When you do yet another load of laundry, you are working towards the health, hygiene, and cleanliness of your family – all of which are important, for with good health comes more ability to learn, to work hard, to live and love well, to serve others, and to advance God’s Kingdom. Furthermore, as my husband pointed out to me, when our children see us performing our necessary daily tasks, such as laundry, with joy rather than a grumbling, complaining spirit, this greatly influences them, as well, for it helps to instill into them an enjoyment of work (not to mention a good work ethic!). My own littles have grown so fond of doing the laundry with us that whenever we give them clothes to put into the washer or dryer, they excitedly snatch them away, so very thrilled to be able to help.

 

• When you are cooking a meal, you are saying that you care about the nourishment of your family and making it clear that you want them to experience the comfort of full tummies. You are also extending love and life-changing, soul-enriching hospitality to whomever may consume that meal – family members and guests alike. Not to mention instilling a love for the culinary arts in your children!

 

• When you read aloud to your children the same favorite book of theirs yet again (even if it bores you to tears), you are helping to instill into them a love of books, of learning, of curiosity and discovery, of purpose and imagination, of vision and excitement. Hey, for all you know, you could be raising up the next C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, or Laura Ingalls Wilder. Just something to think about! ;) 

 

• When you are grocery shopping, you are investing in the health and wellbeing of your family for generations, for the health of your children could affect that of your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, and so on. You are representing to them a picture of the Proverbs 31 woman who brought in her food from afar (vs. 14), you are illustrating for your children an understanding of what the best and most nourishing foods are, and you are providing for them a lesson in finances, good stewardship, and economics as you seek to both find the best deals as well as put your money towards the things that you need as opposed to the things that you want.

 

• When you perform the grungy tasks of cleaning bathtubs and toilets, you are again investing in the health and wellbeing of your family (and instilling in your children the importance of these things!) and are providing both them and any guests who come into your home with a warm, inviting, clean atmosphere in which to live, love, and learn about (and grow in!) the Lord together.

 

We could go on, but I think you get the idea.  The point is that everything you do within the four walls of your home can and does have a great impact on your family and its future, not to mention the hearts and souls of those folks to whom you extend hospitality within your home. If that doesn't get you fired up, I don't know what will!

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you typically view the work you do as a mom as being mundane? How might your thinking need to be reoriented around the truth of God's Word and the impact motherhood has on eternity?

2. How do 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:23-24 impact your view of mothering?

3. How can motherhood be considered Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) work?

4. What homemaking or mothering task is the main one you tend to feel is mundane? How can you change your thinking about that task? How can you find it to have eternal importance?