Encouragement for When You Feel Weary
Grace McCready
At this point in the year, perhaps you’re starting to lose the motivation to keep your New Year’s resolutions. Maybe your goal for 2023 of having regular quiet time doesn’t feel as exciting (or as achievable) as it did in January. But don’t give up, friends! Having the habit of quiet time is still a worthy goal. Here are two invaluable lessons I’m learning as I fight to have a quiet time with Jesus:
Having regular quiet time teaches us to be committed, no matter how we feel.
Think about something or someone you’re committed to—perhaps your family, friends, career, or hobby. If you’re truly committed, you’ll put in the time and effort to maintain that commitment, even when you don’t feel like it. You put aside your sadness, anger, loneliness, gloominess, frustration, and any other negative emotions because you’re devoted. The same is true for having regular quiet time. If we’re truly committed to having a quiet time, we won’t let our emotions dictate whether or not we sit down, open God’s Word, and pray. We’ll do it because we’ve been instructed by God to do it and we’re devoted to Him.
Having regular quiet time teaches us to look for God to work in our lives.
When we’re not purposefully seeking God by having a consistent quiet time, we can’t see His work in our lives as clearly. If we don’t set aside time to ask for Him to work, we probably won’t be looking for Him to answer our requests. Even though we can’t fully understand how God works, we can ask Him to work in our lives and expectantly wait for Him to work.
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the following: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-11 NASB1995)
Although commitment and expectancy aren’t valued by the culture, they are certainly valued in Scripture. When you choose to maintain your quiet time, you are growing in both of those areas. Yes, it can be hard to stay motivated to do your quiet time regularly; but I promise that it’s well worth the effort.
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Grace McCready enjoys spending time with her family, hanging out with friends, and watching her favorite TV shows. She is the author of Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like. She shares personal stories and Scripture to encourage young women on her blog, Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth. |