072: 5 Reasons Quiet Time with God is Essential to Life

Summary

In this episode Sasha shares 5 not so obvious reasons quiet time with God is essential to life. Be reminded and encouraged as Sasha digs into the topic with scripture and truth. God is so good and not only does He meet us in this time, but I am confident that He will meet your heart and remind you in this podcast episode as well.

Need some guidance making this time a reality in your day to day as a busy mom? Join us in the Uncomplicated Faith Workshop coming up July 19th. Learn more here: https://intentionalabundance.life/uncomplicatedfaith

Transcription

0:04
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the intentional abundant life podcast. As usual, I’m super excited to dig into today’s episode because we are talking about five reasons that quiet time with God is essential to everything else you could possibly be doing in life. So let’s do the jingle and dive right in.

1:13
Jingle

1:13
So starting off, I really really love this quote by Martin Luther. “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” And hearing that quote, and like goodness yes, yes. Right. But then, as a mother, I’m like, There’s no way on earth, I have three hours to spend in prayer. I’ve done almost that much one time. And it was when I was on a little retreat at the end of 2021. And I was like, I’m gonna commit to praying for 30 minutes.

1:36
I think that was the longest time that I’ve ever like, intentionally committed to praying for it, it was over two and a half hours, and I was still praying. It was fabulous. It was incredible. Just the amount of people and different things that I was able to lift up in that prayer time was fabulous. But I love even this idea, right? As busy moms, we can have this just like Martin Luther, I have so much to do today. But what am I going to do? How am I going to start my day with so much to do today? And starting in prayer is the best, best, best thing that we could do.

2:42
Because in that prayer time, when we’re sitting in the presence of the Lord, we’re sitting in the presence of God who is outside of time and His ways are higher than ours and His understanding is above ours and He knows the past, present and the future. So I think of these times where, you know, the kid peed on the floor, and then I got to the house late. And who knows, maybe I missed an accident. Maybe an accident didn’t happen because I wasn’t in that space in that time. We can hear these stories about people who were pilots or people who worked in the World Trade Center on 911. And they were late because they couldn’t find their keys or they hit the snooze on their alarm one too many times or whatever else.

3:33
I’ve read the story about this community of people that were like religiously at church every day or every week at this specific time. And something happened, where every single one of them wasn’t able to make it for some reason or another every single person had their own reason why. But it was so weird for even one of them to not be there for this worship practice, or sermon or whatever it was, if you Google it, you’ll find I’m sure. But the church had a gas leak and the whole church burned to the ground and everyone was like, oh my goodness, all these people are dead. They are always there. And not a single person showed up. And so nobody was harmed.

4:18
And so I just think of those moments too where when I have so much to do today when I want to have this structured schedule, this structure to my life or to my days. If I stop, and I pray, God will reveal things to me. He will give me what I need to sustain me through the day. He will direct my path. He can remove things from my schedule. So let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this episode. Number one is the fact that sitting in his presence, time is never wasted. I know that sometimes in this high-efficient, high-performance, Go, Go, Go, do, do, do, busyness, and hustle are a badge of honor.

5:07
If we’re not equitably producing something or doing something it feels like we’re wasting our time. Time with Him is never, ever, ever wasted. And sometimes it can feel like we’re just sitting there not hearing anything. We’re just sitting there in prayer, and it can sometimes feel like no one’s listening. I promise you, Sister, He listened. He inclines His ear and that time is never wasted. Fruits will always come from that time, even if it doesn’t feel like it right here and right now.

5:49
Number two, He knows what you need. And He gives it. He knows what you need today and He’s happy, elated to provide it when you come to Him and you ask. I think of this when I think of, you know, parents who maybe have older kids who they’re like, Well, I don’t want to… I don’t know if you can hear that in the background. There’s a bird chirping. I’ve got the windows open because it’s a nice, gorgeous, beautiful day.

6:18
So sorry if that’s bugging you, but I think in this one I think of moms who, or just parents in general with older kids, maybe teens, maybe adults, maybe they are grandparents, and they’re watching their kids struggle through something, or whatever else but they sit back and they allow their children to live in the free will that they’ve been given. They’re sitting back patiently waiting to be asked to share their wisdom or their advice or their guidance or their help. And I think it’s a sign of respect, honestly. When people want to come in and, and try and provide advice where it’s not solicited or asked, it can sometimes be taken wrong.

7:00
And I also think of this when I think of or see all these moms that I know are struggling day to day they’re struggling with their schedules. They’re struggling to have time with God. They’re struggling to exercise wisdom and discernment. They’re struggling with their mindset. And they’re not living as this overflowing cup. And I know that this program that God has given me, I know that my coaching can help them. But if they don’t ask, like, it’s not my place to intervene. Very rarely do we ever have somebody come to us, and try and give us something that wasn’t asked for and we appreciate it.

7:48
I actually had an experience the other day with a friend who… She often does this. And I think most of the time, it does kind of like get on my nerves. I love her to death though. Like, I know, her intention is so well-meaning. But she came to me the other day and was like, you know, I was just thinking about something that you said on our walk. And I just wanted to come to you and say, and like all this information that I know and all of this, whatever else. And at first, when I started reading her text, I was like, again? We all have this right? Because it was advice that wasn’t solicited. I wasn’t asking for her help in this area. And I thought what I was doing was a really, really great thing. But I’ll tell you what, after I was to the bottom of her message, I was like, oh my goodness, I am so thankful that she reached out to me about this.

8:41
And it had to do with like, kids reading and whatever else and I was just like wow. I, so well-meaning, am trying to set up my son for success and help him be equipped and exercise his brain and whatever else. And some of the things that I was doing to actually try and help him be able to read are the very things that can cause kids to struggle in their reading later in life. And she knew this from teaching her kids to read, from research and studies that she’s read about it, and from her own lived real-life experience.

9:20
But just to share that kind of testimony, often when people come to us, I think God included, you know, at times, we can sit there and be like, oh my goodness, what are you doing? Like, Lord? Why is this happening to me? And sometimes it’s because we’re not taking the time to sit quietly and seek Him. And there are things that He needs to have happen because he’s taking all of creation into consideration. And sometimes there are things that are truly for our good. And sometimes we would have been more equipped or more prepared or maybe even had a heads up, you know if we had been going to Him and seeking His presence regularly because He knows.

9:20
Which brings us to number three, He directs your path and makes your ways straight. I love how much Scripture talks about He directs your path and He makes your way straight and He lights the path at your feet. He is a lamp, the lamp to your feet and He lights your path. And there’s so much scripture that shares this kind of like analogy in this picture. And it’s a big part of where our wisdom and discernment come in, is by seeking Him by getting quiet and listening back from what He has for us. And sometimes that comes through a push. Sometimes that comes through confirmation. Sometimes that comes through Scripture.

10:54
I was just away on this little weekend retreat and it started off I was doing a little Bible study in this structured prayer kind of devotional that I was doing. And just some of the things in there got me thinking. And so I started taking notes. And then I opened my Bible. And I went to scripture here, and I went to scripture there. And I started cross-referencing scripture that had to do with this word and looking up definitions. And I was just like, Oh, my goodness.

11:20
And it was a way that God showed up and completely changed the trajectory of my path that is then going to change the trajectory of other mamas’ paths. Because he did this to show me how he wants me to lead women in this program. Not that it’s any different than I was before, but it’s giving it more structure, and a more clearly defined path of how He wants me to fulfill this mission that He’s given us.

11:58
I think sometimes we can also go to Him with these heavy-laden hearts or these heavy-laden schedules. And He, knowing what we need, lighting our path, is able to lift those things off of us, giving us wisdom and discernment and direction as to what we might need to lay down. I always love to say that there are good things and then there are God things. And if we are not going to Him, if we are not getting quiet with Him, we might not always be able to see the difference. And I think really that’s discernment, right? The difference between good things and God things. It goes back to the garden when the serpent said to Eve, You will not surely die. And from studies that I’ve done, the word “die” there is from what God said and what the serpent said are two different kinds of Death.

13:06
And so it’s a difference between, right and really, really close to right, is what discernment is. We often don’t struggle with the difference between good and bad, good and evil. Those are more clear, often, right? Like, do I want to eat a tub of ice cream or some carrot sticks? We can easily decide that. Am I going to go out in the rain? With open-toed shoes on in a tank top, even though it’s like 40 degrees out? No, we know that that’s not a good thing. Right? Discernment is close to right and right. It’s close to truth and truth. It’s the difference between good things and God things. And as women, as moms, as children of God, there are so many good things that can come our way.

14:01
I remember, an older wise wise woman at our church, once told me when I first became a Christian, I was just trying to show up and show up and show up and serve. And I couldn’t say no to a need that came across my plate. Because I was doing all of these good things. I was killing myself at the expense of it. I was destroying relationships. I wasn’t seeking God because I was doing too many works. And it was just really putting me in a bad place. And she said Sasha when you’re part of a church, when you are the church, when you’re in this community, there is never going to be a day that a good thing is not going to come across your plate, that another need is not going to be present in our community.

14:50
And I remember last year, this was like one of the things that I did during that time when I was doing all the serving right, our church hosts this Thanksgiving feast every year In one year, they’re like, if we don’t have somebody stand up to direct this and lead this and organize this, we’re not going to have it because we don’t have anybody to, you know, take the lead on this. I was like, I’ll do it. I’m good at organizing, delegating, etc. And I led it. And then the next year, they were looking for somebody to lead it. I don’t remember if I let it a second time or not. I know I came alongside people who volunteered to lead it after that.

15:30
And then last year, somebody came to me and was like, oh, you know, we’re looking for somebody to lead it again. And I had spent so much time in this space of seeking God, I had so many God things on my plate at the time, that I knew fully what He was calling me to do. And so I had to politely decline. But it was an instant, like, I knew that this was a really, really good thing. But this was not the thing that God was calling me to serve in. And by me saying, No, they were able to ask somebody else to show up. And maybe me saying no to doing a thing that wasn’t a God thing for me, allowed somebody else to step into their God thing.

16:20
So, use wisdom and discernment. But we have to be going to Him because He is the one that gives these gifts And that is number four. He is the one that gives the gifts, fruit of His Spirit, His blessings, His wisdom, discernment, understanding faith, His strength, His refuge, and comfort. All of these things are in Him. He is the vine, we are the branches. I encourage you to look at a branch that’s not attached to the vine. What kind of fruit is it bearing? None, because it’s dead, or it’s dying right? If it’s not dead yet, it’s going to die soon. All of these things are in Him and if we are not seeking Him, then we are not going to find them.

17:18
I love this quote from Tarah Lynn Saint Eileen. It’s a complex name. I remember reading it a couple of years ago. It says, “Seek Him for His presence, not His presence.” So, it’s difficult when reading that right because you can’t see the presence v. presents, but seek Him for His presence, sitting with Him and just being with Him in relationship with Him, not his presents as in the gifts He gives. So make sure our heart posture is in the right alignment there. These gifts come from Him, they are the presents that He gives us. But we cannot find them if we are not in a relationship with Him, seeking Him, just to be with Him.

18:11
And then number five, it comes from Hebrews 5:14 says, But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained. Even that it’s just like how powers you have powers of discernment. But they must be trained by this constant practice. And it says to distinguish good from evil. I know I just talked a little bit about that, you know, good and evil are a little bit easier to discern. It’s not like it’s common nature, right?

18:51
Sometimes we do things and we’re like, that was not good. Right? But this constant practice is how those powers of discernment are trained that we’re then able to go out and distinguish these good things from God things. I could go on with like, dozens of other reasons why, right, reasons why God time and quiet time is essential to everything else we could possibly be doing. If it is not built on the foundation, on the cornerstone, if we instead choose to build on the shifting sand, we know what comes from that. And I encourage you to go read that passage in scripture because it is so incredibly powerful.

19:42
And I want to invite you, ladies, into a workshop that I am holding, and it’s called uncomplicated faith where I am going to give you guys scripture and encouragement and real-life examples of how you can uncomplicate your faith and how you can prioritize this time with him and let me give you more reasons as to why this is so incredibly important. And maybe one or maybe several of them are really going to resonate with you, because if you are not taking the time to seek Him daily, to pray unceasingly, to get quiet, to pray, to hear from him to read His Word, to allow it to meditate from your head to your heart. Then let’s do that. Let’s uncomplicate your faith and live out a life that is evident of who it is that is living in you. That is evident by the fruits that you are showing up with and sharing with others. The link is in the show notes to jump into that workshop, and it is completely free.

21:05
So there’s no reason for you not to go click that link. Unless you are like yep, Jesus is like, all over me. My fruits are amazing. I get up before my family and I spend an hour in Scripture every day and I’m doing like All these Bible studies okay, No, even then you should be in this workshop because you’re making your faith really complicated if you are in a different Bible study every day the week. There’s a good indication that you’re not taking the time to allow that to meditate from your head to your heart. If you’re listening to sermons all day every day and you’re not actually allowing it to change your life if you’re in a state of consuming if the fruits showing up in your life aren’t that great? And if you’re struggling to prioritize time with him. Ladies, there are dozens of reasons that I can encourage you to jump into this workshop but you know, you know, if you are living with an even slightly, maybe more complicated faith, then you should click the link in the show notes. Jump into this free workshop. Even if you can’t attend live, I will send you a copy of the recording. Love you ladies have a God-blessed day

More about your Podcast Host

Your Host,Sasha Star Robertson is an Intentional Living & Biblical Mindset Coach for busy Christian moms, wife of 14 years to her best friend, boy mom x2 (blessed by adoption), travel addict, and Jesus freak. She is the founder of The Intentional Abundance Co., curator of the Life & Goals Planner, host of the Intentional MomLife with Jesus Podcast & co-host of the Faithful Family Fortress Podcast. Sasha is passionate about the call in Isaiah 61:1-2 and believes that God called her to set mothers free from the stress, overwhelm, and burden associated with modern day motherhood and instead help them live in the freedom of Christ through Biblical mindset & balanced schedules.

Sasha invites listeners to come and chat about where they’re at, to be seen, heard, and what next steps to take to move forward through the stuck walking with Jesus and others in fellowship. Want to jump on a free discovery consult with Sasha to walk away with wins and learn about next steps towards Intentionally Abundant Motherhood, schedule your call here: https://calendly.com/intentionalabundanceco/iamconsult

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