I was recently asked this question by a new friend while out on a coffee date:
“As a homeschooling mom of five, how do you find time to spend in the Word?”
I shared how every couple years, when I’m not pregnant or nursing through the night, I find myself going back to the 5:45 club, and that on the off years, it is a struggle that ultimately employs the use of audio Bibles, family worship, and creatively squeezing in time with the Lord throughout the day.
But ultimately, aside from the different tips and scheduling helps one can employ, this is what’s really at the heart of finding time:
“You know,” I said, “it’s ultimately not an issue of time, but an issue of desire.”
You see, I’m convinced we determine what we have time for based on our appetites.
I clearly feel the pinch for time. I am terribly aware that this season of motherhood is a fight for leisure time and personal time, not to mention time to simply think. And yet, in honesty, we make time for what is important to us. I rarely fail to eat when I’m hungry, I always make time to check my email, and I even make time for blogging and artistic endeavors. Don’t we seem to make time for things we desire?
Desire. Desire steers the ship and fuels the engine. A desire fueled by ambition propels one forward, a desire fueled by fear holds one back. Either way, desire determines our pursuits, our priorities, our capacity.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” -C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Could it be that it is challenging for us to find time to feast on the Word of God because we simply desire other things too much…and expect too little from God and His Word?
Is it that we don’t have time for intimacy with God, or that we don’t desire it enough? How easy it is to fill up the empty voids and little excesses of time and energy with meager crumbs…quick and accessible pleasures that don’t satisfy.
Sometimes those crumbs are idle, filling our minds and time with little more than cheap entertainment and useless information. Surfing the internet? Television? What empty calories these crumbs can be.
Sometimes those crumbs are idols, pursuits that make us slaves to our own ideas of perfection and security. My desire for a clean house can be one of these idols that serve as an excuse for lack of time.
In both the idle and the idols, our desires are misplaced and ultimately, paltry at best.
How do we desire MORE? How do we increase our appetite? How do we long for a satisfying meal and not merely crumbs from the Lord’s table?
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” -Psalm 34:8
We grow our appetite by tasting how truly satisfying He is. Our Lord is all-worthy and all-satisfying. We need but to avail ourselves of His plenty.
Have you been desirous of too little, friend? I know I have.
I’ve come to the table expecting a quick snack, and looked to other things to satisfy the tummy.
I’ve come to the table esteeming Him to be less than He is, and made much of myself and my own provisions.
It may not be time that you lack today, but desire. Let Him increase your desire with Himself…and we may find that time aplenty will follow.
**********************************************
Now let’s link up in community…
Welcome to GraceLaced Mondays, a link up dedicated to sharing any and all blog posts by like-minded lovers of grace–God’s grace! Grace is found in the everyday when you are intentional about taking note of it…and I invite you to share your story, great or small, of how everyday moments are full of Grace.
*Link back to GraceLaced –so your readers can find us here– by copying and pasting the code below into the html page of your post. (Make sure you scroll down and copy the entire code, thanks!)
*Please link up your post, not your blog’s home address.
*Enter the name of your blog post, not your own name.
*Visit the other links and leave a comment–everyone loves comment love!
*Add your link anytime this week!
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.gracelaced.com/category/grace-laced-mondays/" title="GraceLaced Mondays"><img src="http://www.gracelaced.com/uploads/2012/10/GL-Mondays.jpg" alt="GraceLaced Mondays" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
 |
This is something Matt and I were just praying about this weekend. Having a stronger desire to have a heart for Christ. Making time for Him everyday in some way. I feel like I often get sidetracked throughout the day with so many little things that I end up neglecting God and our home. Great timing with your words Ruth. They are definitely needed today.
That is so encouraging that you and Matt have been talking about this already. What a wonderful way to encourage one another and keep each other accountable and focused on what is really worthy! Hugs and blessings to you guys!
This post is so timely! I’m finding more than ever that if I do not take time to cultivate my number 1 relationship, my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter how hard & fast my feet hit the floor in the mornings, my day will just not be what it could be, the better part that Jesus said Mary chose while Martha fussed. I have less time now then ever in my whole life, but it’s more important now then ever that I seek God first.
“Cultivate” is a great word of it, Mary. At the heart of cultivation is time and effort put into the preparation of the soil. A prepared heart is a receptive heart! Thanks for your thoughts, Mary!
This resonates with me! We fill our God shaped hole with so many things we think will fulfill our longings when al along, He is the One our hearts most long for. The more I feast on His Word, the more nothing else will satisfy. I pray for a heart that desires Him above all else. Blessings to you!
“The more I feast on His Word, the more nothing else will satisfy.” Amen. I want to know this consistently and increasingly in my own life.
Thank you for an excellent post. I love the quote from C.S. Lewis and Psalm 34:8 ~ Taste and see… Thanks for hosting the link-up. Have a blessed week!
Thanks for linking up, Ronda!
Dear friends in Christ,
I have been enjoying GraceLaced for some time now, but this will be a first comment. The Lord has been most graciously teaching me about Desire for several months now, and so today’s post rings true. If I may, I’d like to suggest a book on this topic that totally “cleaned my clock.” It is Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms, and in it he draws upon the wisdom of C.S. Lewis, John Piper and Jonathan Edwards. I quote,”You can no more escape from your desire for eternal pleasure than you can cease to be human, nor should you try. Let me be even bolder and say that your responsibility as a Christian is to be as happy as you possible can. In fact, it is impossible for you to be too zealous for happiness or inordinately committed to the pursuit of pleasure. You pursuit may be misdirected, as is the case when you prefer the passing pleasures of sin to the excellencies of God. But it can’t be too strong. God’s creative design was that your ravenous appetite for pleasure find fulfillment in Him, for nothing more wonderfully reveals His glory that the joy the creature has in its Creator. As Piper says, “the bottom line of happiness is that we are granted to see the infinite beauty of God and make much of Him forever.” — I highly commend this book to all who thirst after God.
Thank you for commenting, Cindy! Thank you for the book recommendation–it sounds wonderful! I so appreciate your insights here…all true and worthy of consideration.
ruth. dear ruth! thank you! this has been pressing on my heart, i’d been snacking too much, and almost avoiding full meals. these last weeks the lord has kindled the fire of desire again, and sweetly drawn me back from myself. praise him for his work in our hearts. he is good!
so grateful for you, friend! xo
Love you, Hannah friend. Yes…praise the Lord that He continues to draw us to himself…that we aren’t satisfied with less!
This is so good. (I’m going to share it with my readers.) I’ve recently been hit with the fact that I’ve let work creep into my Sunday rest time -this post is a good reminder that I need to desire time with the Lord on Sunday more than I desire to accomplish tasks. THANK YOU!
Thank you for sharing, Christy. Rest is so good…and so needed for us to focus on what we truly value!
This is true in my life as well. What we desire, we find time for. And lesser things can dull our appetite for the eternal things. Praying for grace to pursue the eternal and not the empty.
Yes…lesser things, even “good” things, can often dull our appetite for what is truly worthy. We are so desperate for Christ to do the work in our lives to realign our desires to His…praise God He is more than able! Blessings to you, friend.
Thank you so much for writing and sharing your thoughts on desiring God and His word. I needed to read this today! I have been reflecting the past couple days on how I need to re-prioritize my time. I am a new mom and have found it tough to be diligent about making time to grow and read and meditate on the Bible on a daily basis, by myself. But especially as a new mom I need my desire to grow even more as I take on the role of being a Godly mom so that I can teach and instruct my son.
I am going to forward this post to my husband as well! I think we could both benefit from this discussion.
Rachel, I so remember those early days as a new mom. The challenges and changes that come with motherhood can either drive us toward more desperation FOR Christ and His Word, or away from it. I pray you and your husband will find encouragement as you pursue your First Love, and model it before your children in years to come!
Hi Ruth
I cannot agree more, dear friend! I have found the secret not so much in reading the Bible, but to live so closely in Him that I don’t even take a breath apart from His presence and grace. Then, whatever I do brings glory to Him for, like Paul said, the life I now live, is not really me, but Christ who lives His life in and through me. Thank you for sharing your space again for the link-up.
Much love
Mia
Thanks, Mia. Reading our Bibles without intimacy and love for our Lord is just empty religion…and phariseeism. May our love for Christ drive us to desiring more of Him…AND His word!
Thank you SO much, Ruth! This truly is at the heart – the very heart – of why so many aren’t in God’s Word – I have three fingers pointing back to me right now! I cannot thank you enough for this honest, tough love! I can only speak for myself here, but I know I needed this reproof and so I thank you so much! I can always come here and be refreshed and encouraged to keep on striving to love the Lord more! You are SUCH a blessing! xoxo
Thank you, Kelly. You are a kindred friend…I’m blessed that we get to be an encouragement in each other’s lives.
HI again,
Spending time in the Word is so essential to each day – so agree – it is all a matter of priority – Make the time, God will bless you with more time.
Would love you to link this week on Wednesday’s Word.
Blessings,
Thanks for linking opportunity,
Janis
Thanks, Janis, appreciate you linking up too!
Thanks for the great post & for hosting, & God bless!
Blessings to you, too, Laurie. Thanks for linking up and for being a part of the community!
So incredibly true! My husband just used that C.S. Lewis quote in his message last week. It’s also so true that our sinful hearts aren’t naturally going to desire Him. “Let Him increase your desire of Himself”!
Amen, Rachel…we have no hope other than Christ doing the work to change our hearts!
John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” A resounding AMEN to your words today, Ruth. And yet, it grieves me that so many pulpits these days just scatter crumbs to the flocks…idle crumbs. Our family has been so desperate to quench our desire for pure Bible teaching, but feel our time is filled with idle crumbs Sunday after Sunday. We do praise The Lord that He does not leave us reliant upon a mere man for the quenching of our desire to know more of Him. His Word is the marrow of life!
Michelle, I’ve prayed for your family to find like-minded community and to be truly fed. I’m so thankful for our friendship online, and for being in community together here!
It’s always so encouraging when you find out someone has been praying for you! Thank you so much! My husband and I kid that our objective is to see how many churches we can mark off our list. All we want is a modern-day Spurgeon. Is that too much to ask? Ha! Ha! The Lord is leading us…we’re just not sure where yet. Perhaps to our own back yard! One of our prayers is whether we are to start our own church. Interestingly, both of our parents started their churches many decades ago. We have it in our blood
Thank you so much, my friend! You mean a great deal to me!
I love how you just speak straight truth, no sugar coating, no excuses. Yes, Lord, increase my desire and forgive my lack and my distraction.
Ruth,
I love this. So eloquent and so important.
Thank you.
If you have the “desire” and “time” please link at Wednesday’s Word – others have to read this.
Blessings,
Janis
I missed this post, and it is so beautiful. True. True. True. What is it I desire so much that I will put in the effort to get it done? How I long to long for God, how I desire to desire Him, how I ache to ache for Him…