Online accountability?
So, talking about routines, I need some help staying regular. No, I'm not talking about All-Bran, I'm talking about spiritual discipline here. It's amazing to me that I can, evidently, be so stuck in and controlled by certain routines and habits in my life (see post below), and yet for other things I find it almost impossible to set up a regular habit.
So, that said, I am trying to commit to a regular "quiet time" every morning before I leave for school. I have tried this many, many times before, but never been able to sustain it for more than a few weeks. Usually it goes well for a week and then I get sick, or oversleep, or need to cram for a test, or whatever, and then suddenly I am behind in my reading, and then something else comes up, and before I know it, it's been months and months...
I know, I am in seminary! This should be a given, right? Well, what can I say? I am not perfect. And I am trying to fix this. And, it's not like I just sit around and watch TV all day. And, I wonder who else here at school is working so hard on their classes that they don't have much time for regular reflection and reading that isn't assigned? Who knows.
Anyways, the point is that I know I need to start doing this. So, it worked this morning. And, probably it'll work tomorrow, but after that...
So, if you can think of a way to help me stay on track, or a way to stay accountable, that would be awesome. Someone once said that you need 40 days of doing something to make it a habit. I feel ridiculous saying this, but honestly doing something every day for 40 days seems pretty much impossible right now.
Hmmm... My inner geek dreams of some sort of javscript I can insert into the blog to track this? Maybe there is a comment form I can install in the sidebar for general blog comments not tied to a specific post.
Anyways, back to Millard-Erickson now...
So, that said, I am trying to commit to a regular "quiet time" every morning before I leave for school. I have tried this many, many times before, but never been able to sustain it for more than a few weeks. Usually it goes well for a week and then I get sick, or oversleep, or need to cram for a test, or whatever, and then suddenly I am behind in my reading, and then something else comes up, and before I know it, it's been months and months...
I know, I am in seminary! This should be a given, right? Well, what can I say? I am not perfect. And I am trying to fix this. And, it's not like I just sit around and watch TV all day. And, I wonder who else here at school is working so hard on their classes that they don't have much time for regular reflection and reading that isn't assigned? Who knows.
Anyways, the point is that I know I need to start doing this. So, it worked this morning. And, probably it'll work tomorrow, but after that...
So, if you can think of a way to help me stay on track, or a way to stay accountable, that would be awesome. Someone once said that you need 40 days of doing something to make it a habit. I feel ridiculous saying this, but honestly doing something every day for 40 days seems pretty much impossible right now.
Hmmm... My inner geek dreams of some sort of javscript I can insert into the blog to track this? Maybe there is a comment form I can install in the sidebar for general blog comments not tied to a specific post.
Anyways, back to Millard-Erickson now...
posted by Jonathan Ziman at
4:57 PM
4 Comments:
Should spending time with God be something that has to be made into a habit? What does it mean to be in relationship to the Creator/Savior?
Does it feel like a chore to spend time with him? Should it? Is it too routine? Are you not desperate/stressed/thirsty enough to go to the well?
How do you make time for your wife, and your kids? Is it possible to something similar for God??
By
Anonymous, at 11:45 AM
All great questions!
I always feel deep within me a strong desire for a deeper relationship with God. It hits me at odd times throughout the day, and I often crave more time with God with a similar sort of feeling that I crave fellowship with my wife and kids.
But in this fast-paced life I have created for myself it is not always so easy to sit down and quietly read my Bible or a devotional at those moments when I crave it most. With my family it is easy - we can talk and spend time together pretty much wherever and whenever. Of course, some moments bring us closer together than others, but I have slowly learned the ability to talk with my wife in the car, for example, even when both kids are also talking and the radio is on and I am driving.
Quiet time, however, is by definition a time of peace and quiet with just me and God. At least, that is what I think it is supposed to be, right? While I can pray in the car, or in class, or during lunch, or wherever, reading is different. Sitting down to slowly read and digest and ponder and think and reflect is a bit harder to do if the radio is on, or I'm in the car or stuffing a sandwich in my mouth.
So, it seems like the solution is to follow the trend of so many other Christians and carve out time every morning to do this kind of quiet time. And to make this a habit in the same way that drinking my morning coffee is a habit. I don't know, maybe this a purely American cultural quirk. Maybe it's different in other countries. I have no idea. I came to faith as an adult, and so I don't have any models to follow aside from what I hear people in church talking about what we "should" do. And for men the message is very clear - you should have a daily habit of early morning quiet time.
Great. No problem! I love the concept, and my *desire* to do this is strong. But honestly, if I leave this up in the air as something to do "as the spirit moves me" then I know that it will be too easy to let sleep or tiredness or whatever keep me from doing what I know is right.
Furthermore, if I do decide to make this a habit, and if I am also honest with myself, I need to admit that *good* habits, especially spiritual habits, are hard to make and easy to break. My sinful nature is easger to set up all sorts of bad habits. That's my default setting. But the good ones require work.
I don't mean to imply this is a horrible chore. On the contrary! But it is something that I have historically had problems keeping momentum going with. Thus my plea for help.
I figure if I can make my struggle quasi-public and put my goals in black and white, then perhaps this time I can push through the little setbacks, avoid the temptations and distractions, and settle into a solid groove.
I think about Jesus, God and the Bible a lot throughout the day. Our professors spend hours feeding, pruning, growing and shaping us. I pray frequently. I read my Bible. I am thinking all the time about how to apply what I am learning, how to connect all the dots, how to pull together all these ideas and theories and lessons. But what I yearn to have is a time of quiet. And, honestly, that is hard to do sometimes.
By
Jonathan Ziman, at 12:58 PM
Many of us leave spending time with God to last place in our daily lives-because we know that He'll never abandon us- will always be there to forgive us...and even though the marriage vows say "until death do us part"- our partners are fallen people and MAY not always be there- There is an urgency to work out relationships with other people- more so than an urgency to spend time with God.
Observant Jews spend time with God and from what I've observed- their motivation is not to have a "quiet time" but rather to view God as an excellent study partner- studying the scriptures with an image of God next to them studying along with them. I like that image.
I get a bit irritated when I hear people say- you can spend time with your loved ones, why not spend time with God- No offense to the previous commentator, Angel Fish- but God is not to be equated with our human relationships. God is not a replacement for family, friends, lovers. God is unique and each relationship with him is unique-and one task we have, perhaps, is to figure out a working relationship with Him uniquely- and it may take on a pattern or shape that is unlike anyone elses and it may take a lifetime to figure this out. You've got time and space at any rate.
This helps get rid of guilt- which I think was riddled through your comments, Jonathan. God doesn't want us to come to Him out of a sense of guilt. Guilt really was dealt with on the cross. We may feel ashamed about our actions or lack of action- but not guilty.
God looks on our heart and understands and loves us anyway- and that's where the focus of our motivation should be.
So what am I suggesting?
l. Focus on your love and gratitude to God and be motivated to spend time with Him because of a desire to love him more.
2. Realize that the form and pattern on your walk with God is going to be different at various times in your life and is always going to be different than anyone elses- so feel free to explore different ways of expressing that.
3. Think about what observant Jews do- in that sense, perhaps now when you don't have a 40 hour/week, your time studying in seminary is also time studying with God- perusing the scriptures together- and then the times during the day when you want to pray or talk to God in the car, etc. also "fill out" the various parts of a "traditional" quiet time.
I wonder if Paul/Peter/John etc. had a "quiet time" - and what that meant.
It is sad that too often a quiet time in our days is an area where we feel guilty, deficient in our walk- or it is inadvertently used as a "I'm better than you" kind of thing. I wonder how recently a quiet time has become standard practice. I have an idea that it is rather recent.
I don't think we should come to a daily quiet time with a sense of guilt, hanging our heads and trying to be "better".
By
Anonymous, at 6:43 AM
I disagree with angelfish. The difference between my wife and God is (among a few others) is that I can reach out and touch my wife and she reaches out and touches me.
God desires that I grow in faith and faith does not grow in certainty. So God is not present in material form except for evidence of his creative work - but there are always other explanations for what we observe.
I think our relationship with God will always be a struggle and there are a lot of ways people try to solve the problem. There are some who are very methodical and are able to open their Bible each morning and read five chapters and pray. But most of us are not made like that.
In the 35 years of my Christian life, I have had long dry spells and shorter rainstorms of blessing. My most recent experience is that I came to the point of being completely depleted at the end of August and began a pattern of morning devotions that has been sustained. I tell people now that I get up to have my time with God, not out of duty but out of desperation.
If you would like to know more about this, I preached a sermon about my experience.
http://www.rpfchurch.org/sermons/2005_09_18.html
By
Anonymous, at 7:41 AM
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