Do you ever feel that you just don’t have enough time to spend the quality time you want with God? If so, I think the following excerpt from A Sudden Glory will encourage you. Keep reading…
“I just never have enough time to spend with the Lord,” Amanda cried. “I work forty plus hours a week, commute ninety minutes both ways, oversee elderly parents’ affairs, and take care of my five-year-old son. I’m either on the road, at my desk or taking care of someone else’s needs. And on top of that, I never feel like I’m doing any of it well. What does God want from me in the middle of all this madness? How can I carve out time for Him? I feel like I’m constantly failing Him!”
Amanda is not alone. I’ve been right there with her. Haven’t you?
We live in a physical realm and our new, born-again spirits will never be completely satisfied here on earth. There will always be tension between the two.
Living in union with the Spirit of God is counterintuitive to the ways of this world. What causes that tension and prevents us from experiencing unbroken union with Christ? I believe it is the tendency to compartmentalize life into two hemispheres: the secular and the sacred.
Everyday secular activities vie for our attention, while our times of worship and communion are relegated to Sunday morning worship, early morning quiet times, and mid-week Bible studies (if we can fit them in).
We spend the majority of our days operating in secular, day-to-day activities and feeling guilty for the lack of time spent in sacred communion with God. Can you relate?
For most of us, a struggle to find the balance between the secular and the sacred wages war in our hearts. We live in the secular and yet long to be in the sacred. The constant flip-flopping between the two is exhausting, and inevitably we see one as the winner and one as the loser.
We see ourselves as failures struggling to get out of Romans 7 and longing to live in Romans 8. We wobble on a spiritual tightrope, fearing the slightest misstep will toss us into the canyon of God’s disapproval.
Thankfully, there is a way to wave the white flag of surrender and end the battle’s constant conflict. We can experience true union with Christ when we erase the dividing line and meld the two hemispheres.
What would that look like? Let’s go back to Amanda.
What if Amanda communed with God while she commuted to work?
While she worked at her job?
While she took care of her family?
Do you see how that would help alleviate the false guilt that adds to her feelings of insufficiency? The physical or secular realm involves
cooking,
cleaning,
ironing,
shopping,
vacuuming,
laundering smelly clothes,
washing dirty faces, and
wiping messy bottoms.
It involves being a wife, a mother, an employee, an employer, a friend, a student, and a host of other roles and responsibilities that merge on any given day. What could be sacred about all that? Everything.
The spiritual or sacred realm includes
praying,
reading the Bible,
going to church,
memorizing Scripture,
serving the poor and
meditating on meaningful messages.
The spiritual aspects of our lives include worship and practicing spiritual disciplines.
I want to suggest that God never intended for the lines separating the secular and the sacred to exist in the first place. Acts 17:28 says, In Him we live and move and have our being.Since that’s true, the sacred also includes cooking, cleaning, ironing shopping, vacuuming, laundering smelly clothes, washing dirty faces, and wiping messy bottoms. When you erase the lines between the secular and the sacred, your entire life can become an act of worship. Click & Tweet!
That doesn’t mean that we don’t pull away and spend quiet time with God, but it does mean that our communion with God doesn’t stop there.
Today, as you do your errands, go to work, clean your house, cook your dinner…invite God along. Talk to Him. Acknowledge His presence. Enjoy communing with Him.
Leave a comment and tell me something routine that you did today where you communed with God at the same time.
Do have a persistent longing to experience God’s presence and working in your life, but not quite sure how to make it happen? If so, my book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, is just for you. Join me in discovering how to experience a deeper more intimate relationship with God than ever before.
And for you married gals, has apathy or indifference crept into your marriage and you don’t know what to do about it? Has your soulmate
turned into just a roommate? Then check out my book Lovestruck and get out of that funk! Learn how to get Lovestruck all over again. This book answers everything you were dying to know about the Song of Solomon, but were afraid to ask!
Comments 31
This article just blessed me with answers n letting me see that I am not alone with the struggle of guilt about the way my day goes. Yes it’s very calming to include our Father in Heaven with all of our daily activities I have been doing that n it feels great n yes I am still working on one on one time with the Lord
Thank u for this inspirational article
God bless
Col_3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
“…the sacred also includes cooking, cleaning, ironing shopping, vacuuming, laundering smelly clothes, washing dirty faces, and wiping messy bottoms.” That is worship.
Ok, I think I need to get your book Lovestruck! I was just re-reading Song of Solomon yesterday! I have always loved reading Song of Solomon, but always find myself with more questions.
Thank you for your Beautiful words.
God Bless you!
I think I’m always talking to God. I drove to the store and talked and cried. The hard part for me is I want to hear him! I want the answer. I get impatient!! God is a great listener with no yelling or judgment. So… I’m trying to be calm and patient as he mull over my conversations.
Teresa Alger instead listening for a voice look for a verse in the Word of God that is his voice and in the verse is the answer. God said you got to hear the Word and hear it again. Repeat it to yourself every day that’s how we get things to manifest. The Law of Language…we have what we say we have. Remind God that He promised. I pray this helps in the answer you are looking for don’t be weary or faint. Pray/Petition day and night. Luke 18
Teresa – Being calm and patient and continually searching, wondering, questioning what God is saying, if he is saying anything or maybe he wants me to see something and I’m not looking in the right place. You are not alone….it is exactly what I felt when I read your response. Glad to know I am not alone. Love to you….
I love to talk to the Holy Spirit all day long. It all started one morning as I was getting ready for church. I hate to pick out clothes, so I asked the Holy Spirit what I should wear. It didn’t seem right to me, but after wasting time looking for something else, I went back to His suggestion. I got so many compliments at church that day about my outfit. Now He’s my go to when getting dressed and other difficult things in my life. Our God cares for even the little things!
Love this! Yes, He does love it when we talk to him, especially when it’s just the little things!
While I was washing dishes, I was thanking him for his goodness!
I desperately need to find the balance of sacred and secular at work. I’m so overwhelmed right now I’m barely functioning . Thank you this lesson today.
I have an hour commute each way and that is a great time to spend in prayer and worship! Observing the sunrise and all of creation and remembering those that need healing. We are blessed in my area to have a fabulous Christian radio station the Joy Fm, also available in an app anywhere, so I put that on while driving, while folding and hanging laundry, so I do try to incorporate God into the secular world. Also, if someone asks for prayers, I do it right then. Like all of us though, it is easy to get weighed down with every day life! We just have to think of God as our BFF. He should be the first person we call when something good or bad happens in our day!
This devotion is perfect timing for me today. (thank you Jesus!)
I’m struggling with long days at work, rushing around when I get home, feeling bad that I’m not with my kids more, and falling into bed to repeat the whole process again. I’m so tired. Emotionally and physically. I don’t know what else to cut out. (I don’t do very much for me at all) I cried on the way to work and just asked God to be with me today. I’m in a bad storm and I need to hear from Him desperately. I need Him to hold my hand today. I need Him to heal me and my relationship with my husband. Thank you for your prayers. I just don’t know how to stop and rest in Him. How do I do that?
He is holding you today, His hand resting gently on your shoulder just to keep you safe. Every time you use the bathroom today use those few moments to breathe Him in deeply and breathe out the angst. Place one hand on your chest and concentrate, even if it is just 2 minutes. It helps! God bless you.
Hi Tanja,
I just prayed for you, that you will not feel guilty, because you are doing the best you can. Also, I prayed for your emotional and physical health and that you won’t be tired but have a lot of energy.
I prayed that God will hold your hand today and be a source of comfort to you. That God will heal you and your relationship with your husband.
I think that listening to inspirational music on the radio or hearing a Christian message while you are driving to work and back could be helpful.
I feel that often it is so easy for us to try and figure out everything ourselves but it often doesn’t work very well. Devotional books that include a daily scripture such as Sarah Young’s, ‘Jesus Calling’, etc. or Dr. Jeremiah’s Turning Point Ministries. Women need the support of other women either through a Zoom Bible study or in-home study (if your husband could come to a couple’s Bible study with you) that would be a positive thing as well or to see a Christian counselor if possible to address issues that are concerning to you.
Hey Tanja, I have been where you are. Sometimes I feel like my Christian life is like a roller coaster. One thing I have learned is that you have to do something for you , even if it is just once a month. You matter too. God loves you and He wants you to be refreshed physically and spiritually. Lately, I feel the Lord saying to me , Just stand, be still and know that I am God. I picture myself out in the middle of the ocean with the waves and wind and thunder and lightening roaring all around me. Instead of freaking out which would be my usual way of reacting, I’m just standing there with the arms of God holding me tight. That may sound simple, but to me –a controlling fixer– it is a foreign concept. We have responsibilities and there are things we absolutely have to do. We can’t just abandon our families or our jobs. I understand that. I feel like I have just got to fix everything for everybody. God never asked us to be anybody’s fixer– we take that on ourselves for a number of different reasons. Try with me today to just be still for a few minutes, Just stand . The storm will not overtake you–just look up– Your Daddy has you. I hope this helps in some way. Love in Christ : )
I NEEDED THIS TODAY. THANK YOU
This is so on point and right on time, my God! I used to wake up very early in the morning, and engage in quiet time of prayer, scripture and worship and it has always been empowering. Now I sleep later and guilt ensued. So now I know, erase the line! Worship while I work, wife, and in all of life! Thank you!
I love the idea of erasing the line behnken secular and sacred! At the beginning of 2020, God gave me the word, balance. As I prayed on it & sought more, Holy Spirit revealed to me that there is no balance in my Christian life… total surrender to the ways of Christ means heavy on the sacred, blending in the daily things of life! It may look totally off balanced to the world, but that’s ok! BTW… I am still trying to figure it all out! Thankful for tons of grace & mercy!
Thank you for this encouraging message. There truly should not be a separation in one’s life…. secular and sacred. Our life in Christ is one, so whatever one does, all should be done as onto the Lord for His glory.
Many Many times I’ve found the kitchen sink, the clothesline, the mop, washing machine and yes, the shower altars of worship, communion, and places of pouring out my stressed, heartbroken/ distress, and confusion to God. And to have Him meet me with peace and strength to carry on.
This was so awesome and confirmation for me. I communed with God this morning while driving not entirely sure if it was acceptable to him but I needed him to be included in my task today. Thank you for sharing.
This truth has set me free from 30+ years of going to bed with guilt every night. Wish I could share it with everyone ! Thank you! Blessings and favor for you.
I loved this article. Yes, I constantly struggle with feelings of guilt because I don’t spend enough quiet time with God. I do listen to sermons/podcasts and worship music on the way to and from work, I talk to God alot but rarely do I slow down to hear from God. I think I am putting both of these books on my list to get.
Thank you Sharon
Thank you😊 I worship 🎶 and pray 🙏🏻 while I drive. I thank God for everything. I look up at the sky and I see God’s beauty. Time with those you love, kind words with strangers are so special! There is always something to be thankful for, especially delays! No one knows how delays could be preventing harm in some way❣️
I walked to the store for groceries. I talked with God as I walked
I stopped to talk to an old gentleman and he was rather happy about that
I said God bless you as I left
he said I hope He does
I replied He will
And I asked God to do something special for him and bring to his mind what i had said
And may God bless you today as well.
My routine that I did today and try to do everyday where I commune with God at the same time, is my daily devotional as I prepare breakfast for my husband and sometimes my daughter and I. I listen to a morning devotional in which I listen to Monday to Friday and I also have other devotionals during the day. Sometimes I want to get up earlier in the mornings before my day begins but sometimes that doesn’t work. Thank you for today’s lesson it was very informative.
This was really deep and I often feel that way. But when I get that feeling i pray and talk to God!!
I am grateful that I am not the only one doing household chores while speaking to God and listening to His songs of praise and worship
Thank you for this great lesson! I have always felt that my relationship with God should be a lifestyle and not just a specific time and place. However, it does feel good when I can have personal time with Him. I am learning to include Him in my life living too. Family, work, chores, …… Thank you again and God bless!
I believe this article has great truth in it. But I also think we need to be asking the Lord daily to guide us into making choices that put Him and our husbands first. It will require us to walk by faith which can be rather scary But if we have to have less in this life to have more in the life to come it will be far more valuable in the end. And we will have a testimony of His faithfulness.
Thank you for this Sharon. Amanda sounds a lot like me a couple years ago. I was working 40 plus hours, teaching children’s church, taking care of my mother with Alzhiemer’s.Even though I loved my Mama very much and I am so grateful that I got to take care of her, I felt so overwhelmed. I don’t think I really laughed or felt real joy for a long time. I felt so disconnected from everyone. I am so thankful God got me through those times. Anyway, I want to say, I have a 30 minute commute to work one way. That is where I do my singing , praising and communicating with the Lord. This is the only place I can be completely alone with the Lord. Without those times I’d be lost. God has spoken so much wisdom into my heart during those trips. Thank you for your commitment to us thirsty women out there. I appreciate all you do.