“It is possible for us to be so busy trying to bring God into our activity that we don’t even notice Him at work around us.” – Henry Blackaby
Guilty.
Sometimes, I get so busy and I lose my focus.
In fact, when that happens, I need a redirect.
A quick change of perspective.
Often, when the big picture is blurred and out of focus it is necessary to do something.
All you “fixers” and “do-ers” out there, don’t get too excited; the “doing” I am talking about is not so glamorous!
So what do we need to do?
Two words. Quiet time.
We must come before Him daily (or even multiple times a day!) and be quiet.
Of course, we must also get into His Word daily BUT do not forget the “Quiet” in “Quiet Time.”
Quiet before Him.
WOW. Did you know my mom affectionately dubbed me, “Little Miss Motor Mouth” as a child? This is challenging for me, yet God has reminded me of a few things when I am quiet.
When I am quiet, I show God that He is preeminent. He is First and All. He is the Lord and I am the servant.
I deny myself when I am quiet before and yield to God.
When we are quiet before God, our lives are brought back into focus. There is a redirect from self to God.
In Ephesians 4:22-24 Paul reminds us,
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We put off the old self which is corrupted by sin and put on the new self which is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
It is not an “old self ” makeover. We can’t fix what is wrong with our sin nature.
The new self is in fact “formed” by Christ.
We must put to death the old self daily.
Refocus. Redirect.
Away from self and to Christ, who lives in us!
Retreat to quiet yourself before the Lord.
I am convicted to stop asking God to be present in all my activity and instead to refocus to see where God is working all around me so that I can join Him!
He is moving in the life of your marriage and He wants you to work with Him…not vice versa.
Commit to a refocus. Redirect your heart away from self and to God. My prayer everyday this week is Psalms 46:10-11. Will you pray and with me, and then be quiet and let God be exalted in your marriage and family?
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
Amen.
♥ Kim
image via Pinterest
I am with you on this! I have to be extremely intentional to be quiet in my prayers. My mind just tends to take off constantly, and I have to go capture it and bring it back to the quiet present.
I find journaling before I pray helps, as I am able to dump a lot of miscellaneous clutter upon the page: worries, rabbit trails, etc. Very often, ideas or areas of need for prayer arise from the writing. I just seem to be able to concentrate better once I’ve had the opportunity to do a little mental housecleaning first.