By Michael C. Mack
Recently as I was reading Psalm 61, I came to a significant verse: “Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!” (Psalm 61:4, New Living Translation).
King David was on the run, but he yearned to be back in Jerusalem, not because that’s where his palatial home was, but because that’s where God’s sanctuary was. To David, God’s presence resided especially in the sanctuary, and David yearned to be there.
Don’t miss the word forever in this verse. David longed to dwell in God’s presence forever. The relationship—the fellowship he had with God—was so sweet he didn’t want it to end.
Here’s a tough question for you today. Do you feel the same way as David did when you spend time with God?
Let me ask this another way:
Do you rush through your daily quiet time to get to the “more important” things on your to-do list . . . or would you rather hang out with God a little longer, enjoying more intimate time with him? Do you schedule a 5- or 15-minute meeting with God and do the bare minimum because you feel you should . . . or do you open your heart to God and desire to spend as much time as needed to enter into real fellowship with him?
When I catch myself setting my own agenda for my time with God rather than coming humbly to him seeking his agenda and purposes for our time together, I know something’s not right. It’s time for a course correction.
There are a number of “entry-level” devotionals out there that help beginners spend time with God. Five Minute Bible Devotionals, Five Minutes with Christ, Five Minutes a Day: 365 Daily Devotionals—I found a bunch of these listed in an online bookstore. And those are fine, I suppose, for new Christians. But if you’re leading others and you’re still doing 5 minutes a day with God, well, “C’mon man!”
Our time spent in solitude with God is the secret to fruit-bearing ministry. You must receive before you can overflow!
So, how is your time with God? Are you rushing through it or, like David, do you not want it to end?
Author: Michael C. Mack
Michael C. Mack is editor of Christian Standard. He has served in churches in Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, and Kentucky. He has written more than 25 books and discussion guides as well as hundreds of magazine, newspaper, and web-based articles.
I found this helpful. Thank you!
God spoke to me this morning through this devotion. I had been rushing through my morning bible reading and prayer. This is what I needed.
Thank you!