Daily Devotional

If I am being completely honest with you then I have to admit that I do not have a daily quiet time.  I want to set time aside daily but I have not made it a priority.  There is no one to blame but myself.

Sometimes, if you pay attention, you will see the same thing coming at you from different angles in life.  When you finally notice the pattern .. pay attention!  Recently, that "thing" for me has been a book called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

This book has come across my path repetitively.. and for a long time now.  I'm embarrassed to say that I am just now catching on.  I am an avid reader and so people tend to recommend books to me quite often.  Most of them go in one ear and out the other.  It's not that I don't respect the opinion of the one recommending it .. I'm just picky and often don't try hard enough to remember the title. Anyway, this title has made an appearance so many times (and in so many ways) that I remembered not only the title but the author.  It seemed about time that I took a closer look.

After a very brief internet search, I realized two things:  1) this is a daily devotional and is meant to not be read all at once and 2) there is a free app available that gives you a week trial of the book.

Bingo!

My desire to have a quiet time, but my lack of focus, has now been rectified.  I read daily already so taking a few minutes to meditate on a book entry won't change my routine too much.  Also, I don't buy books (because I read too many too quickly) and so a free app is a great way for me to test drive it first. 

I know me and that means I can not jump head first into something that completely alters my routine.  I won't stick with it.  If I gradually start just reading the book during my existing "reading time" (i.e. lunch break) then I have added something new but not changed everything.  Eventually I will, hopefully, add a second break (ideally in the morning before work) just for this.  This may sound non-committal to some, but for me, it's the exact opposite.  I am trying to change my behavior.  I have to take baby steps.

I downloaded the Jesus Calling Lite app for droid and this is what I saw for today:

Sit quietly with Me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness.  There, in the Light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear.  However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future.  You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times.  What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn't include Me.  Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My Presence will be with you at all times.


When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the Light of My Presence in to that mental image.  Say to yourself, "Jesus will you be with me then and there.  With His Help, I can cope!"  Then, come home to the present moment, where you can enjoy peace in My Presence.


Then Jesus said to this disciples:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens:  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.  And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
- Luke 12:22-26


"Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
- Deuteronomy 31:6


"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
- 2 Corinthians 10:5

This excerpt spoke volumes to me.  It met me where I am today and I know it met you where you are.  We are in different places so it speaks to each of us differently.  This is a valuable book .. especially to someone like me who does not currently have a quiet time.  It can be completely overwhelming to think "OK, I am supposed to sit down for "quiet time" and do what!?  Do I read the bible?  What do I read?  How long do I read?  What am I supposed to feel?  What am I supposed to say?"  These are all things that I felt and I know I am not alone.  I truly believe that's why this book has come into my life.  It has provided me the structure I am looking for.  I am sure once I become more comfortable with the process then I will be able to branch out and build my own version of quiet time, but for now, this seems perfect to me.

We are all at different places of our walk with God. Maybe you don't even know who He is.  I encourage you to pick up this book.  If you don't even want to do that, then I encourage you to read my posts.  I will try to let you know about any entries that hit especially close to home. 

If you have any questions, please email me.  I can not promise to have the answers but I do promise to help you find them.  If you are currently using Jesus Calling as part of your daily devotional and have any words of wisdom or insight, you are welcome to let me know as well.

Here's the Amazon link if you would like to buy it.