I've been pondering the many ways we spend time with the Lord. While I firmly believe that communing with Him throughout our days is indispensable, set apart time is equally important. A marriage that didn't have time exclusively set apart for the husband and wife to be alone, would suffer greatly. The same is true in our relationship with the Lord - there must be time to be with Him, and Him alone.
Many of you know that since our move back to the States from Puerto Rico, our lives have changed drastically. In my season of adjusting to this incredible new life, I began to wonder if I was doing something wrong because my time with Him had changed quite a bit. I have found that we tend to become so accustomed to the "normal" way the Lord encounters us, that we downplay noticeable shifts, especially when the "norm" has been outrageously good. Too often we want to camp at specific encounters not wanting the present glory to lift or change. But He has promised to lead us from glory to glory! Letting go of one season, no matter how glorious it was and trusting Him to lead us is key in this amazing relationship. If every meeting, every encounter, was always the same, this beautiful friendship would become stale and boring. Realizing this has brought me a lot of freedom and I can enjoy this new juncture in my life without forcing myself to replicate an experience, the way I approach Him, or even the manner I expect Him to meet me.
In light of some of these revelations I began to think of you, my friends, who also have burning hearts for greater intimacy with the Lord. For those of you who would like, let's journey together through some of the specific ways we spend time with the Lord, how they affect us, and how we can better facilitate what He is doing in our lives in the seasons we find ourselves.
At first I was going to set a specific amount of time, perhaps 2 weeks, but I don't want there to be pressure in what we are doing. So, while I will write Day #1, etc., it is only to assist you in keeping track of our journey. I truly mean "our journey", because I would love for you to share in the conversation, here and/or on FB. (Either on my personal page, or The One Who Waits page.)
To start out, I encourage you to take some time and think about the many different ways you truly enjoy spending time with Him. Then we will talk about how we encounter Him in those ways. For example, at the moment, I encounter Him mostly in 3 ways: worshiping Him in song (with music playing), reading, and dancing. For others it may be through contemplation, painting, or Bible reading. I would love to hear how you spend set apart time with Him, and if you are having a hard time getting time alone with Him, feel free to say that too!