If I told you that you don’t have to spend hours upon hours with the Lord every day to get close to Him, would you believe me? If I said just 5 minutes reading the Bible every day could transform your life, what would you think?
Don’t get me wrong, if I could spend hours and hours with the Lord every day I would, and when I have time like that I give it to Him. That’s the desire that just 5 minutes a day can awaken. You want Him more because you get to know Him and love Him more. (time = relationship)
One of the most impactful talks I had on the World Race was with our leadership at the beginning of month 7. Every few months of the Race we would get our entire squad together (8 different teams/54ish people) to debrief what was going on in the journey so far. There were 5 of these debriefings total, and during each one time was set aside for each team to meet together with leadership for discussion, encouragement, mediation (we’re humans), whatever was needed.
The interesting part about this conversation, though, is that it wasn’t directly with me. I was present, but the talk was directed at someone else.
It was our 3rd debriefing, and my team was meeting with our coaches, Phil and Ruth. Each member of the team had an opportunity to discuss matters on their hearts, and our leaders would speak truth and wisdom, and give us advice and guidance, etc.
I had an amazing brother on my team at the time who had spent years spending hours upon hours a day with the Lord, but the time demands of the Race usually made that a difficult thing to continue. This was hard for him.
I remember his eyes beginning to well up with tears as Ruth began speaking to him about how her life changed so drastically when she became a mother. How time with the Lord became something to be coveted. What she learned, though, was that she could “steal moments”. Even if it was just 5 minutes a day, that was better than nothing at all.
It struck me hard in my spirit when I heard her say this to him, and I haven’t forgotten it since.
When I returned from the Race, life started taking a normal path again. After a short while I had a job, family demands, bills, ministry, etc… and time continued to be something that was hard to come by.
I remember thinking one day, “God, I want to spend more time with You, but I just don’t feel like I have enough. I want to give you ALL of my time, and if I can’t do that it’s not worth it. I should give you more.”
Afterward, He reminded me of this conversation between Ruth and my brother, and asked me to just give Him 10 minutes a day – during a break at work, or in the morning before I ran out the door, or as I was laying down to go to sleep. That was all. Just 10 minutes.
It didn’t feel like much. It felt weird in the beginning because I thought it wasn’t going to be worth it and I was trying too hard. But I did it. Consistently. At least 10 minutes a day, every day.
It’s been more than a year now, and you know what? I can tell you that little bit of consistent time with Him has changed my life more than anything else – just reading my Bible and talking with Him.
I feel closer to Him than I have. I hear Him clearer than ever before. I know Him better than I ever have in my life. Even on the Race I didn’t talk with Him every day like this, I didn’t know HOW to. Nor did I read His Word this consistently. It has changed the way I think, the way I talk, the desires of my heart. So much…
Yes, when I have more time I give it to Him, but He ALWAYS gets 10 minutes. No matter what.
Today, scriptures come to my mind all day long that I didn’t even know I knew! Even when I’m not reading, I’m almost always meditating on the Word of God… asking for wisdom and clarity, asking to know His heart. Messages are in my spirit constantly (that’s usually how He talks to me these days – in messages, almost like sermons), something that has never been until I made Him a daily part of my life. I feel Holy Spirit stronger than ever, and am learning to discern Him vs Self.
It has changed me.
The Race may have changed me – learning the true beauty of giving up your life in order to gain it, to trust in the Lord’s provision, what it looks like to BE the Church, and how to be content with nothing. But this, this is something entirely different.
And I want to tell you it’s available for you too!
Don’t let the enemy convince you that it’s not “worth it” if it’s a little bit, or belittle the power of “stealing moments”. The widow with the mite could have thought the same thing. She could have easily thought giving so little wasn’t worth it because it wasn’t much, but the Lord said her gift was worth more than all the other gifts given that day because it was all she had.
If you want something more, something deeper, something that you know is real in your relationship with the Lord, I encourage you to take this challenge:
Give Him just 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes a day… whatever you can give as a consistent devotion to Him for the next 30 days. Could you do that? Just try it and see what happens…
