Ways to spend quality time with God when life gets overwhelming.
It can be hard spending quality time with God when life gets so demanding. We all go through phases of life that get so overwhelming or filled with challenges, events, and the busyness of life. Our generation is filled with so much activity and information. From the moment we wake up in the morning, our brains are loaded with so much to do and tons of information. It can definitely get hard trying to keep up with our daily life while also spending time with God. Often times I feel like I do not even have control over my schedule. Being a Wife, pregnant mom of a toddler, pharmacist and blogger, I struggle to get moments of doing nothing.
The devil does not want us spending time with God and getting to know him. He will do all he can to distract us from what is most important in life and fill our schedule with activities. There is this common word FOMO which stands for Fear of Missing out. The devil tries to make us think everyone else is busy pursuing something and that we need to do the same as well in order to be successful.
Ways to spend quality time with God
Wake up earlier in the morning: Try waking up some minutes earlier than you usually would especially if you have kids. This will ensure you get your quiet time in before anyone else wakes up. This also gives you uninterrupted quiet time. When I try to have quiet time with my daughter on the bed, she would want to write in my notepad or grab my color pens bag and play with them.
Surround yourself with bible believing people: when you have other like-minded Christians around you, it makes it easier to challenge yourself in your walk with God. They are able to share ideas with you and also keep you in check and challenge you to know when you are slipping away.
Schedule your quiet time and protect it: when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Schedule your time with God and guard it. If you choose to do it at a particular time, let everyone know the importance of that time to you and clear up your schedule to ensure it happens. Let your family know, you need a few minutes away to spend with God.
Put a bible verse as your home screen for your phone: This ensures a verse is the first thing you see when you open your phone. It could also trigger your memory to start your bible study with God especially if you forgot. It is also a simple way to try to memorize scriptures.
Listen to devotions or podcasts: I love listening to podcasts especially when i am driving. If you have a long commute, you could move your quiet time to your commute time and spend some quality time with God while driving. Find christian podcasts or devotionals to listen to while driving.
Involve your family: As a mom, sometimes, getting quiet time is next to impossible especially if you have more than one child. Involve them in your quiet time, this not only allows you to get it done, but also teaches them the word and shows them how important God is to their mom. Granted, they probably like my daughter will be playing around or trying to mess with your notepad and pens.
Focus on quality vs quantity: Sometimes, we get worked up thinking quiet time has to be at least an hour to be meaningful, but that is not the case. Focus on quality rather than quantity, if you only have 10 minutes, make that time count. Stop putting pressure on yourself to spend so long doing bible study just because everyone else is. I have learned and still learning to appreciate every little moment I have to spend uninterrupted quiet time with God.
Remove all distractions:This especially has to do with electronics like cell phones and laptops. Have you noticed your phone beeps a million times when you decide to spend a few minutes with God? Put your phone on silent or switch it off and put it in a different room so you are not tempted to reach for it.
Is God involved in all matters of your day?If God is not involved in your daily affairs, you will end up struggling throughout the day without any reward.
Bible apps or devotional apps:these can help make quiet time easier by giving you ideas of things to read or study. There are apps like Youversion, She reads truththat can help with quiet time. I also wrote a blog post about some great apps that can strengthen your walk with God.
Give God your struggles:Sometimes, we do not have time to spend with God because we are running around all day trying to solve problems that we should hand over to God. Isaiah 30:15-18 explains this so well:
In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
Basically, it is easy to think we can solve all our problems. We keep coming up with more solutions every time rather than running to God to help us.
These are some ways you can ensure you are able to make time to spend with God no matter how busy life gets. What are some ways you guard your quiet time with God daily?
Related articles on spending quality time with God
10 Apps that will strengthen your walk with God
What does it mean to be a Godly Woman
Leave a Reply