How to Make Room

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

John 15:4

This blog is part 2 of the previous post: Is there room? So what if your answer to that question is no? No, there is not enough room for God or God habits in your life at the moment? The follow up to that question then becomes… How do we make room??

I want to provide some tips but first… let’s be honest about why there isn’t enough room. Here are some of the most recurring statements we hear.

Barriers:

• I don’t know how to study
• I am not a morning person
• I do not have time in the evenings
• I do not have a church home
• I am unable to attend bible study
• I have kids
• I travel a lot for work

Remember:  God is not always going to disrupt your life to get your attention. Especially if you continue to ignore Him. He wants you to invite Him in. He wants you to make a conscious decision to have a relationship with Him. God wants you to want Him…God wants you to MAKE room, not leave Him the leftovers…Here are some tips!

Best practices:

• Wake up earlier –
  • Before the world starts moving. Before the house starts stirring. Before you open social media. Even if you start with only 5 minutes in the morning, get in the routine of spending some type of time with God. You can read the bible via bible app, bible plan, daily devotional, actual bible. Pray over what you’ve read and ask God to speak to you through His word. As you get up and get your day started, continue to think on the scripture and communicate with God throughout the morning and rest of the day.
• Quiet time before bed –
  • Same general idea as above. Be intentional about spending the last couple minutes of the day with God. Consider shutting everything down 30 minutes before bed. Read, pray, meditate. Allow yourself space to unwind and hear from God.
• Take advantage of lunch time –
  • Close your office door. Go for a walk. Sit in your car. Consider taking half of the lunch hour to spend time with God instead of talking, running errands, checking emails, etc.
• Purchase a new bible –
  • In order to develop better study habits, find a Bible that you can read and understand. There are TONS of study Bibles in different translations that help with interpretation. Also consider purchasing a concordance (ie bible thesaurus) to help with word history and definitions. Cross reference your online/phone Bible, with your study Bible and the concordance when reading scriptures. Also…use google!
• Start taking notes or journaling –
  • Writing is proven to help with retention. Consider writing down key scriptures and what they mean to you. Write down your prayers, when God answers your prayers and even future topics to study. The more your study and write, the stronger your relationship with God and interest in learning about Him will grow.
• Listen to audio books, religious podcast or the Bible instead of the radio –
  • Time in the car or traveling can be a good time to spend uninterrupted with God. This time can also set the tone for the rest of your day, feed your spirit with positivity and provide additional teachings.
• Replace time on social media and tv with scripture reading –
  • When we have breaks in the day, we typically pick up the phone and scroll. Try replacing that with revisiting the morning scripture and your study notes.
• Attend church –
  • This includes bible study, Sunday School, Sunday Service, small groups, etc. There is no getting around this fellowship of other believers. Especially Bible Study if you are not confident in studying on your own and/or are

Are any of these things enough by themselves? I would argue no. Think about it, there are 24hrs in a day. Ten percent of that is 2.4hrs. Seems like an unreasonable order to devote that much time everyday. I am not saying 10% is the minimum but I am saying that we should be conscious about the amount and quality of time we give to God. I have an app on my phone that shows me I use my phone approx 4 hours a day. Pick up, put down, social media, text messages, bible app, emails, videos, etc. I don’t have a conclusion here — Just pointing out for perspective. We may not make the 2.4hr (10% standard) but the least we can do is be intentional and proactive…right?

JUST START SOMEWHERE

The key scripture is Jesus answer to glorifying God, being a true disciple of Christ, receiving blessings and bearing fruit. Its requiring us to make room for Christ, which essentially requires faith. Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If you spend time with God, you will build your faith. Your will develop a relationship with Him. You will obtain the tools you need to be successful in all areas in your life. When you are not spending time with Him, your faith struggles and starts to weaken, allowing life to be more difficult. In order to grow in faith, in grace, in strength, in wisdom and all the rest of God’s promises, we have to be proactive and intentional about making room for God!

#isthereroom #intentional #startsomewhere #makeroom #pushthrough #letstuffgo

Peace. Blessings. Love.

Lady Z