Path to Peace

As believers in Christ, you’d think that we wouldn’t struggle with peace, contentment.  Not true.  Often, instead of peace we have worry, anxiety, depression.  Instead of contentment we have control issues, unfulfilled desires that gnaw at us and a spiritual walk that is weak or not existent.  The simple task of reading God’s word, meditating on God’s word and praying on a daily basis is the only path to having an abundant and peace filled life.  We all know this and still we push it aside.

In speaking with women I often hear a recurring phrase:  I need to find time to do my quiet times.  I even have said the same words myself.  But here’s the facts:  I am never going to find time.  I have the time I am simply not using a portion of it to spend time with the Lord.  We have to push something out of the way to give God the place He deserves in our daily life.  In my own sinful heart, if given a choice between doing my quiet time or checking email/facebook/plurk/twitter/etc….. my flesh is not going to choose time with God.  I have to choose to give time with God a top priority in my daily schedule.  It is a daily choice and it doesn’t get any easier to make the right choice.

Are you waiting for your schedule to improve?  It won’t.

Are you hoping you’ll have more time when your kids get older? You won’t.

Are you thinking that if you just get past this one roadblock then you’ll have time? You’re wrong.

When it comes to spending time, daily time, in the word and with the Lord you have to just take the time and do it.

Take the time.

Make the time,

Steal the time.

Grab the time.

Snatch the time.

I have a very high-need child and even she has learned what Mommy means when she says “not right now, this is Mommy’s time to spend some time with her bible”.  Sometimes she is sitting right beside me playing with toys but she knows, this is my time.

That said, there are still plenty of days, way too many days, that I decide I have better things to do, more entertaining things to do, things that seem more fun and more relevant to my life, than have a quiet time.  But those things never lead to peace, never lead to contentment and instead they tend to feed the anxiety in my heart and give depression the upper hand.

The word of God, time in prayer with God… this is truth and this leads to true freedom.  Time away from God….well…. that usually leads to bondage and strongholds.  In my life, it leads to being imprisoned by anxiety and my own thoughts.

Steal the time away from the daily distractions, from the things that aren’t as important and have a daily quiet time.  It is a simple task that produces such fruit in our lives and must be given top priority if we are going live free and victorious over depression and anxiety.