Hey sis!
In today’s post, I am going to share with you 5 tips for your devotion time which will help you get the most out of your quiet time with Jesus.
Let’s get right into it!
- Let go of the pursuit of Perfection.
Perfection.
An all to familiar struggle that we can all relate to, which tends to creep up into our quiet time with the Lord. And it’s like we can’t just seem to get it right.
Many of us, including myself (this is something I have struggled with for years) have set for ourselves a certain expectation or standard when it comes to spending time with God – that we must get it right all the time, or that we must follow the schedule that we set for ourselves and follow it to the letter.
Don’t get me wrong: structure and planning aren’t a bad thing.
But it shouldn’t take away the joy, freedom and beautiful experience that comes with spending time with Jesus.
Spending time with Jesus should be the focus: not how long you do it or how many chapters of the Bible you read or should have read.
So, sis, give up the need to always get it right. The need to be ‘perfect’ because it won’t always be. And that’s the beauty of it: the imperfections and all, because it is in those imperfections that God weaves his grace and presence as he writes your beautiful story.
[In the coming weeks, I will share with you all on my struggle with this and how I am slowly overcoming it. Look out for that!]
2. It shouldn’t look like hers! Do You!
Many of us have fallen into the trap of comparison where we not only compare ourselves to her, but also compare our devotion time to hers.
We see how ‘she’ does it and wonder how comes it so much easier for her and not for us.
We see how she is thriving in her quiet time with Jesus and low-key get a little bit jealous because she seems to be on top of things and you’re not.
Firstly, sis, you don’t know her struggle.
Her life, or in this case, her devotion time, may look perfect but you don’t know her struggle. You don’t know the battles that she has gone through and how hard she has fought for her relationship with God and to get to where she is today.
It’s easier for us to compare and conclude that it’s all easy for her yet we don’t know her story. This walk of salvation isn’t easy; for her, for me or for you.
Secondly, who said it has to look like hers?
No one.
But because we compare, we make her the standard for our personal time with Jesus.
Your time with Jesus should like however you & the Holy Spirit should want it to look like. It’s your personal time with him and it should suit you, your personality, your desires because it’s that personal.
It should be personalized to fit you. (To get a better understanding of this, I recommend you read this post I wrote last year about having & being in a Personal relationship with God).
If you want to go out to a coffee shop and sit and read your Bible as you inhale the aroma of coffee, do it!
Are you someone who likes nature? Go outside with your Bible, notebook, and pen, go sit on the grass as the sun tans your legs and get into the word, as you enjoy God’s beautiful creation.
Do You sis! And make it yours!
3. Find out works for You.
This is in relation to what I have mentioned in the second point about doing you when it comes to your quiet time with God.
Take time to figure out what works for you (that is, if you haven’t done this already).
Ask yourself what you would like your devotion time to look like, to feel like.
Are you into journaling? Are you into calligraphy and drawing on your Bible?
Are you into nature, as mentioned earlier? Do you love to just sit and look at the sky and trees and just worship Jesus? Integrate all this into your devotion time. Don’t limit yourself sis!
Go all out!
Also ask the Holy Spirit what ideas He has that you can integrate into your time with God. I mean, He is the God of all creativity and would love to be apart of this process as you move towards making this time all about him and you having a beautiful time together.
4. One Day at a Time.
Sis take it a day at a time.
Don’t get caught worrying, trying to figure out if it will all work out or if you will remain consistent.
Don’t let fear, doubt, and worry of failure or not getting it right hold you back from meeting God today or from trying to implement something new today.
New Habits take time. Becoming disciplined in a certain area takes time.
All you need to do is show up today. Wake up, pray, open your Bible, and meet with God, today. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Just focus on today.
And remember God is with you. His grace will carry you through it and be with you.
And when you wake up tomorrow, His Grace will be right there, ready to help you and walk you through it.
And if you miss a day, don’t worry. God sees you and still wants to meet with you. Don’t hide from his presence or condemn yourself. Come to him expressing why you weren’t able to meet him today (maybe schoolwork was a lot, or you were tired.) and tell Him how it made you feel. Then, receive His comfort and go to bed, ready to wake up the next day ready to meet with Him.
5. Sacrifice
My fifth and final tip is Sacrifice– be willing to sacrifice.
Spending time with God requires sacrifice: sacrificing your time, sacrificing your sleep, sometimes sacrificing food (fasting) and sometimes sacrificing spending time with friends so that you can sit in your prayer closet and hear from God.
Daughter of God, be willing to sacrifice.
If your heart isn’t open to laying down yourself and your time and to be aligned with God, then you will see all this as ‘something that your forced to do’ and you will hate it.
If you know that your heart is hardened towards sacrificing a certain thing in order to spend more time with God, ask the Holy Spirit to touch your heart. Lay down the mindset of ‘being forced’ down at His feet and let Him replace it with the mindset of this is the time you get to meet with your first love.
Ask him to soften your heart and to create a desire and a hunger within you for Him and His word, so that you can come into His presence each time with joy and gladness to meet with Him.
And those are my 5 Tips to help you with your Devotion Time! I pray that they will help you and put you on the path to having a beautiful time as you meet with Jesus.
If you have any questions or feel like you want some more advice/suggestions on this area, feel free to reach out at hello@unscripted.co.ke.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Let Go of The Pursuit of Perfection.
If everything was perfect, you would never learn and never grow.“