If you're like me your day is most often a whirlwind. Alarm goes off. Shower. Quiet time. Dress. Work. Lunch. Work some more. Go home. Chores/homework. Dinner. More chores/homework. Bed. Repeat process.
In the transition times between the various stages of the day my thoughts are mostly consumed with the next thing that has to be done. Most days the topic of my quiet time is swept up by the various tasks of the day within a couple of hours. This often led to frustration in my spiritual life. I just couldn't get why I wasn't making any discernible progress in growing to be more like Christ; for instance, why I was still struggling with my attitude when I identified it as a problem to work on 6 months earlier.
Several months ago I made the decision to intentionally slow down my day at points and reflect on a passage of Scripture, or a truth of some sort, or simply an adjustment in thinking or behavior that I felt the Lord wanted me to make. Even though these were short moments of reflection, only 2-5 minutes apiece, the effect on my spiritual growth was immense. The Lord began to connect the dots between the truths of Scripture and my attitude, my behavior, and my actions in a way that I had not experienced in a long time.
Taking a few moments to reflect provides a unification point for your day. It provides an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to bring the truth of Scripture to bear on your life in increasingly applicable ways. Reflection makes you more sensitive to spiritual realities and the struggles of those around you because you are intentionally reflecting on spiritual things.
Reflection can take several forms:
1)Praying through Scripture-- this is the method I use most of the time. Weekly, I identify a chunk of verses to memorize that use as the focus of my reflection times.
2)General prayer-- taking the time to bring "mundane" elements of your day to the Lord. This allows you to begin to discern spiritual realities behind events you don't normally think of as having spiritual components.
3)Journaling-- provides an opportunity to reflect on the day as a whole and what the Lord is teaching you in a manner which is easy to reflect on even months down the road.
What other forms of reflection have you found to be helpful in your walk with Christ?
Comments
Taking time to notice little details of the world that God created helps me to feel worshipful and noticing of His glory. Hearing a bird song in the early morning or cicadas on a summer night immediately bring thoughts of God and His greatness.
Reading the words to hymns or singing them or trying to memorize scripture by seeking to put the words to song is another form of reflection for me.