A DAILY PURSUIT

Isn't it true? We pursue countless things without pursuing the one thing

that matters most-time with God.

I was raised to believe in the importance of a "quiet time." To the

surprise of some, that concept did not originate with the late Dawson

Trotman, founder of The Navigators. It began with the Lord Himself.

The Scriptures are replete with references to the value of waiting for

the Lord and spending time with Him. When we do, the debris we have

gathered during the hurried, sometimes frantic hours of our day gets

filtered out, like the silt that settles where a river widens. With the

debris out of the way, we are able to see things more clearly and feel

God's nudgings more sensitively.

David frequently underscored the benefits of solitude. Most likely he

became acquainted with this discipline as he kept his father's sheep.

Later, during those tumultuous years when King Saul was borderline

insane and pursuing him out of jealousy, David found his time with God

not only a needed refuge, but also his primary means of survival.

When he wrote, "Wait for the Lord; / Be strong, and let your heart take

courage; / Yes, wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14), David was intimately

acquainted with what that meant. When he admitted, "I waited patiently

for the Lord; / And He inclined to me and heard my cry" (40:1), it was

not out of a context of unrealistic theory. The man was hurting; he was

in great pain. And when he wrote: "Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have

walked in my integrity, / And I have trusted in the Lord without

wavering. / Examine me, O Lord, and try me; / Test my mind and my heart"

(26:1-2), he wasn't whipping up a few pious thoughts to impress the

reader. Those words splashed from the depths of his troubled soul, like

the salty spray that explodes when waves crash against rocks.

Time with God? Who experienced its value more than Job after losing it

all? In worship he wrote:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,

And naked I shall return there.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

His quiet trust didn't wear thin; the man continued to commune with his

God. Remember his confession? What makes it even more remarkable is that

he stated it while surrounded by those who accused him:

"But He knows the way I take;

When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my

necessary food." (Job 23:10-12)

That's it! That is exactly what occurs when we remove ourselves from the

fast track and keep our appointment with the One who seeks our worship.

His words become more satisfying than a good meal. What great thoughts

He has preserved for us-what insights, what comfort, what reassurance!

The best part of all is that such divine breakthroughs come so

unexpectedly. Though you and I may have met with God in solitude morning

after morning, suddenly there comes that one day, like none other, when

He reveals His plan . . . and we're blown away.

Who would ever have guessed that an otherwise ordinary dawn would find

an 80-year-old, over-the-hill shepherd staring straight into a bush

ablaze but not consumed? F. B. Meyer wrote with eloquence about it in

Moses: The Servant of God:

There are days in all lives which come unannounced, unheralded; no angel

faces look out of heaven; no angel voices put us on our guard: but as we

look back on them in after years, we realize that they were the turning

points of existence. Perhaps we look longingly back on the uneventful

routine of the life that lies beyond them; but the angel, with drawn

sword, forbids our return, and compels us forward. It was so with Moses.

Understand that those phenomenal moments are the exception-not the rule.

If God spoke to us like that everyday, burning bushes would be as

commonplace as traffic lights and ringing phones. The fact is that never

again in all of time has the voice of God been heard from a bush that

refused to be consumed with flames. You see, God is into original works,

not duplicated recordings.

But never doubt it: He still longs to speak to pursuing hearts . . .

hearts that are quiet before Him. Let's start there.