This is a question I’ve asked myself before.
When life has extra projects going on, it can be a game-changer. But if you’ll pause and pay attention, I guarantee you’ll sense the grace and peace of God all around you. Instead of being stressed, you can look forward to tackling your projects.
But be careful… busy seasons can change some otherwise normal routines (especially your quiet time with God). In other words, we need to be aware of what we do with our time each day because the success of tomorrow depends on it.
And recently, while in such a season, l couldn’t help asking myself, am I cheating on God in any way by changing my normal morning routine. Immediately, the Holy Spirit answered and showed me three things:
1. His Grace is Sufficient for You
I know this. I quote it all the time. But I can’t let that dampen it’s truth. The Lord told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
In other words, if we’re always strong (and in control) ourselves, how will God ever show us what He can do if we’ll let Him? He can’t. And don’t forget He’s a gentleman, so if we keep opening the door ourselves, He’ll stand by and let us.
But if we’ll rest in His presence, grace, and strength, He’ll open the right doors –and there will be zero stress about it.
2. Jesus Had a Routine Too
That’s right. Several times in the scriptures, it says He went to the temple “as was His custom” (Luke 4:16). But it also speaks of the times He went out into the wilderness or the garden to pray.
In other words, just because your routine doesn’t look the same, doesn’t mean it won’t have the same results.
Jesus’ routine was to fellowship with God–all the time, no matter where He was. You and I can do the same.
3. It Seemed Good
This may sound odd, but I knew what the Holy Spirit meant when He whispered it to my heart. In the Gospel of Luke, we find that God didn’t tell him to write his gospel. He said, “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us… it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account…” (Luke 1:1-3).
Luke trusted the inward witness. He didn’t have an angel visit him or hear an audible voice from heaven. It just seemed good to him to write his account of the Gospel.
We can learn from this. We need to get our mind out of the way and listen to our heart. I believe there are many times when God is cool with something but we let the thoughts in our head convince us otherwise.
So, although there can be times when we need to evaluate our routine and make sure we’re not “cheating” on God by replacing our time with Him with other things, that doesn’t mean it’s the case every time.
I encourage you to ask the Lord. He’ll show you (and help you).
