Have you ever looked at your calendar, realized your day was completely packed, and felt a wave of guilt because you hadn’t opened your Bible yet? Or maybe your day wasn’t even busy, you just didn’t feel like opening your Bible or praying; I’ve been there myself.
If we are being completely honest, we live in a world that thrives on busyness. We rush from school to work, to family obligations, to chores, and somewhere in between, we try to squeeze God into a five-minute window before we pass out asleep at night. We recite the Lord’s prayer before closing our eyes. We turn our relationship with the Creator into a checklist item.
But yesterday, I saw a quote that completely stopped me in my tracks. It said:
“It is inconsistent not to have time for God and to wish to spend eternity with Him.”
Wow. Read that again. It is a sobering reality check, isn’t it? We look forward to spending a literal eternity in His presence, yet we struggle to give Him ten uninterrupted minutes on a Tuesday afternoon.
But let’s take it a step deeper. Sometimes, it isn’t even about our schedules being packed. Sometimes, we get to a point in our walk where we simply don’t desire to spend time with the Lord. We lose our hunger, the routine feels dry, and if we are being completely honest, we just don’t want to do it.
If you are in that dry place today, please know you aren’t alone, and guilt won’t fix it. When the desire fades, it’s a signal that we need to stop looking at our quiet time as a chore and remember the heart of our Savior. We have to intentionally choose to fall back in love with the Lord and His presence. We have to remember how sweet it was when we first met Him.
Moving Beyond the Checklist
When we think about spending time with the Lord, we often get caught up in quantity. We think we aren’t “good Christians” unless we spend an hour a day reading commentaries, journaling, and praying long prayers. But God isn’t looking for a performance review. He is looking for your heart.
He desires quality over quantity.
Think about any relationship in your life. If you sit in the same room with a friend for three hours but you are staring at your phone the entire time, you didn’t actually spend quality time with them. The same is true with God. He would rather have fifteen minutes of your absolute, undivided attention—where your heart is completely open and listening—than an hour of distracted, rushed reading just so you can check a box.
The Mary and Martha Reality
The Bible beautifully illustrates this exact struggle in the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:41-42. Martha was frantic, running around trying to get everything perfect, while Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus. When Martha complained, Jesus gently corrected her:
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Jesus didn’t need Martha’s endless frantic busywork; He wanted her presence. He wanted her to choose “the good part.”
Making Room for Eternity Today
If we are going to spend eternity with Him, we have to start building a relationship with Him now.
This week, let’s challenge ourselves to shift our mindset. Let’s stop worrying about how many chapters we read or how long we pray, and start focusing on the intention behind it. Put the phone in another room. Clear out all distractions. Sit in the quiet, open your heart, and give Him your undivided quality time. Spend some quality time with your Father.
🤍 Let’s Chat in the Comments
What is your biggest distraction when it comes to spending quality time with God? Also, what’s one of your favorite ways to spend time with the Lord? Let me know below!
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