You open your phone and scroll past another devastating news story. A friend posts about the death of someone they loved. You open your email to be met with a long list of messages that need your response. You glance at the texts sitting unanswered on your phone and decide that those will need to wait a little longer.
You have a conversation with someone you love but don’t see eye to eye. It’s hard to understand why it seems like you can never agree on important issues.
You get to the end of your day with more tasks left on your to-do list than you started with. You wish you had made time to be physically active. You probably should have eaten better. Maybe you wish you had left a conversation on better terms. You’re wondering what you will face when you wake up to do all of this again tomorrow.
The reality of living life as we wait for Jesus’ second coming can feel heavy and hard. Each day, we are faced with our sins and surrounded by the sins of others. We can’t escape our need for a Savior, and yet, at the same time, we often do not turn to Him for refuge in our daily life.
In Scripture, God shows us a better way. Seeing our daily struggle, He turns our eyes to His Word.
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (Proverbs 12:25)
We cannot make the problems we face in this world go away. But we can draw close to the Maker. The God who spoke all of creation into being. The God who makes our sins no more.
But how can we draw close to this God?
1. Schedule Time in God’s Word
When you are feeling most overwhelmed or upset by the events of the world or your life, let those feelings remind you of how critical it is to make time to sit with the Maker of the world instead of the makers of news cycles and social media content.
Schedule a time to read Scripture and pray as part of your day. Hoping that it will magically fit into your schedule or that it will just happen is rarely a realistic expectation. Maybe it’s not the same time every day—but start with one week. Look at each day and schedule when you are going to intentionally be in God’s Word.
2. Set Aside a Space for God’s Word
Wrestling with sin and the consequences of sin in our lives is not a simple task. It’s not something to quickly check off of a daily to-do list or something that you can do once and move on. It takes space both mentally and physically.
Give yourself permission to leave space for unanswered questions or feelings. God, the Maker of all, is capable of navigating that space and meeting you in your unrest.
It can also be helpful to make physical space. Have a plan for where you are going to read and pray. Get that space ready the night before. Gather your Bible and other items you might want and have them ready to go so that when you have scheduled time to study Scripture and pray, you are not using that precious time searching for items. It could be helpful to keep everything in a bag or basket that you can grab easily.
3. Find Refuge in the Reality of Your Redeemer
Making time and space for God is part of the Christian life. You already know firsthand without me typing it out that when you are too busy for God, your problems and anxieties become insurmountable. There is value in working hard to make space and time for God. James 4:8 promises,
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
However, for those times when we fail at making time, for those times when we fail at making space, for those times when our sin and the sin of this world is just too much, we can take refuge in the reality of your Redeemer.
Jesus has already made time and space for you and with you! You are as close to Him as two friends catching up over cups of coffee. You are as close to Him as a parent teaching their child to ride a bike. You are close to Him because He has made Himself close to you.
When the news of school shootings takes the breath out of your lungs and crushes your soul, when the sight of rising gas prices breeds anxiety, when the demands of your schedule are almost too much to carry . . . make time for God. Make space for God. But do so in the reality that your Redeemer has come to you.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection mean you have a God who is with you, even in your sin and the sins of others, and He still remains. Psalm 34:18 puts it this way:
“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Use this calendar as a way to make time and make space for your Maker this month with daily activities to enrich your faith.
Scripture: ESV®.
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