Does a quiet time matter?
My wife and I joined the local gym and for the past month we have been rolling out of bed at 5:30 (yes, that’s a.m.) to be in the pool by 6:15 for aqua aerobics three times a week. Everyone tells us this is A Good Christian Thing to do, and in the midst of some of the more intense times of exertion I think some of us do call out his name.
But it has had a big effect on my routine. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I’m up just in time to fall into the swim trunks and sweat suit I left on the dresser the night before so I wouldn’t have to turn on the lights. After the workout and shower, there isn’t a minute to spare before I have to be dressed and at my desk. On Tuesday and Thursday I’m trying so hard to recover from the sleep deprivation of the day before that once again I’m in bed until the last minute, so I’m in a rush to get ready and get to the office. In my eagerness to try to do the right thing for my body, my morning quiet time has disappeared.
Does it matter? After all, we have the incredible gift of being able to pray and commune with God all day long! What makes one time any more special than another?
For me, I’ve discovered that it matters a lot. You see, God is a gentleman. He doesn’t walk up to my desk several times a day to interrupt my work with something he would like me to do for him. He doesn’t call my phone and distract me from my work for a conversation. He doesn’t Twitter 10 times a day to tell me “Still keeping universe together.” When I get home he doesn’t meet me at the door wagging his tail or holding his arms out for a hug. He doesn’t cook dinner or suggest a movie or grab a Wii controller to play a game with me. And I find it’s all too easy not to spend time with, keep a sense of love for, or even really think about someone who isn’t a tangible part of my physical life.
Yes, the evidence of God is all around us and his hand is at work in our lives. But even in the beauty of Colorado it’s easier for me as a human to see “mountain” than “incredible creation of God.” It’s only in the stillness of a quiet time that the awareness of God moves from a vague concept in my mind to a tangible presence in my life. With regular quiet times that sense of his real presence stays with me. Without them I find that he becomes abstract.
So it’s time to rearrange my schedule. Quiet times don’t have to come first thing in the morning, and maybe I’ll build a routine at some other point in the day. But one thing’s for sure: no matter how good exercise is for you, it’s far better to spend time actually experiencing God than time spent using his name in a sentence mentally shouted at a sadistic aerobics instructor.
