I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what to write about the unique time we find ourselves in. I would have never thought this would be what we would be facing when we began this year only 3 short months ago.
Waiting
There are people who are going to work, worried about what they should do to protect themselves. There are others who are stuck at home waiting, unsure of what the future holds for their jobs and their family’s jobs. And then there are others who have lost their jobs and are left not knowing what to do next amidst the economic upheaval.
Some of you are waiting for healing, financial breakthrough, and all different things during the pause that has been put on your life.
Like many of you, I too am in a season of waiting. It has given me more time to reflect and read my Bible. I’m not nearly as good about doing it as I wish I was. I admit that I fight multiple times daily to stay focused on that instead of all types of other things but deep down, I find myself wanting to get the most out of this quiet time.
Jesus in the Garden
I was kind of just reading little bits and pieces in all different places of my Bible and I thought today about the story of Jesus in the garden in Matthew 26. I remembered how the disciples went to pray with Jesus in the garden.
In the account, Jesus and the disciples go together to a place called Gethsemane. Once there, Jesus says to Peter, James and John,
“…remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38).
Jesus goes on into the garden alone and begins to pray. He is praying to God about his upcoming crucifixion and is troubled greatly by what is about to happen.
When he returns to the disciples, he finds they have fallen asleep.
The part of this story that struck me was verse 40 when Jesus says to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?”
This hits home for me. I know for me that I have a great deal of trouble in this same area. I find myself falling asleep a lot when I sit down to pray when things get turned upside down in my world. Maybe it’s because I am so overwhelmed. Maybe I don’t focus enough on what I am doing. I believe that God does not want us to feel shameful when these things happen.
I don’t think that is what God is like.
How Long is it, Really?
I thought about that verse and thought that an hour seemed like such a long time to me. It really isn’t.
Do you find yourself checking your clock a lot more in this season?
I know lately an hour feels like a very long time. It depends on what we are doing, doesn’t it?
An hour was nothing when we had softball practice, coffee dates, dry cleaning to pick up, the gym to go to…….
Why does it seem in our ‘normal lives’ that an hour was so easy to lose, yet now, it seems there are many more to fill?
In this new season, this new normal, I have a thought. Well actually, it occurred to me about three weeks ago when things started to get shaken up. I wasn’t feeling grounded at all. I was really turned inside out and was growing increasingly unsettled, no matter how many times I tried to focus.
I sat down one morning and felt prompted to pray for an hour.
I’ve prayed before, but I don’t usually pray for that long at once. I guess I never timed it before, but this time I did. Surprisingly, I only checked my watch a few times. The last time I looked down it was an hour, right on the dot. At that moment, I found myself ready to give more.
Fast forward to this week, and in passing I thought of that story of Jesus in the garden. I began to think,
“What would I feel like in this season of uncertainty if I could give one hour to God every day to pray?”
My personal goal for the next two weeks at least is to sit down once a day and do what Jesus had asked his disciples to do.
One hour, every day.
At the end of my two weeks (or longer), I hope to have a fresh new love for that special time we are all offered to spend with our Creator. My intention is to journal about things I pray for, write down things I feel my heart drawn to, and to grow a deeper yearning for the time that I spend in prayer.
That quiet time will likely feel like a break from all the noise, and I am hoping to find some much needed peace in this time of waiting.
If you are at home or in a place of waiting, I encourage you to spend some quiet time with the Lord and see if the World’s troubles don’t quiet down even just for an hour a day.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is written by the site owner, Christine DuRoss, and is my personal opinion. It is not intended to be taken as health, medical, legal, marital, parenting, personal or financial advice. I am not a professional counselor, coach, doctor or health professional. I am not a legal professional nor should my views be consider legal advice in any way.
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¹Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
