INSIGHT FOR LIVING Time with God by Charles R. Swindoll

June 19, 2010

Time with God
by Charles R. Swindoll

Exodus 3

I was raised to believe in the importance of a "quiet time."

To the surprise of some, that concept did not originate

with the late Dawson Trotman, the founder of the

Navigators, but with the Lord Himself.

The Scriptures are replete with references to the value of

waiting for the Lord and spending time with Him. When

we do, the debris we have gathered during the hurried,

busy hours of our day gets filtered out. With the debris out

of the way, we are able to see things more clearly and feel

God's nudgings more sensitively.

When David wrote, "Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your

heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD" (Ps. 27:14), he

was intimately acquainted with what that meant. When he

admitted, "I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined

to me and heard my cry" (40:1), it was not out of a context of

unrealistic theory. The man was hurting, in great pain.

Time with God? Who experienced its value more than Job

after losing it all? Remember his confession? What makes it

even more remarkable is that he stated it while surrounded by

those who accused him: "But He knows the way I take; When

He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held

fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have

not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the

words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:10-12).

That's it! That is exactly what occurs when we remove ourselves

from the fast track and keep our appointment with Him who made

us. What great thoughts He has for us, what insights, what comfort,

what reassurance!

And the best part of all is that such divine breakthroughs come so

unexpectedly. Though you and I may have met in solitude with God

morning after morning, suddenly there comes that one day, like

none other, when He reveals His plan . . . and we're blown away.

Understand, those phenomenal moments are the exception, not

the rule. If God spoke to us like that on an everyday basis, burning

bushes would be as commonplace as traffic lights and ringing

phones. Fact is, never again in all of time has the voice of God

been heard from a bush that refused to be consumed with flames

. You see, God is into original works, not duplicated recordings.

But never doubt it: He still longs to speak to waiting hearts . . .

hearts that are quiet before Him.

Keep your daily appointment with God. It's the

one meeting

you can't afford to miss.

Don't be late!

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by

Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights

reserved worldwide. Used by permission.