Quiet Time

Ah, self-discipline. There are so many things that I do or don't do because I am not self-disciplined enough. I'm sure you know what I mean. We all have those things in our life that we need to be more disciplined about. Maybe it's our eating habits (you don't have to be overweight to have bad eating habits) or holding our tongue in check. But I think a major discipline is a regular quiet time.

Why is it that I can keep my normal appointment with someone in the church, but my regular appointment with Christ seems to be pretty fluid. If I miss one I don't think it's that big of a deal, but if I miss an appointment with a human being I'm worried about causing an issue between us. It's almost as if I use the forgiveness of Christ as a crutch. I know he will forgive me for missing our time together and so I continue to miss it with him because I know he will forgive me. It's a vicious cycle.

A number of blogs ago I was talking about sin and why I do what I don't want to do. The whole Paul thing. I think I've found my answer. No, it's not because I've missed my quiet time. It's because I've missed spending time with my Savior and have relied on my own strength instead of His strength. I can't expect my sins to be conquered by myself. I need Christ to intervene in my life, give me strength, and conquer those sins through me. Yes, Jesus has already conquered death and sin has no hold on me, but unless I trust completely in Christ with all of me I cannot expect to be able to tap into that power. "Christ is the source of power, and meeting with him is essential to our receiving it" (Discipline Essentials, Greg Ogden, 35).

What does Jesus want from me? All of me. What should I want to give to Him? All of me. But I should never expect to give all of me if I'm not willing to keep my relationship building times with Him. I wouldn't even think about missing my time with my wife. I should be even more emphatic with my time with my Savior.