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.
No comments:
Post a Comment