Daily devotional, February 27, 2024 Five-minute challenge

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!" 
Psalm 37:7

As followers of Jesus, we often hear the phrase “intimate relationship” with God. While it is easy to understand for some, not everyone could easily grasp this concept, much less have it in their lives. But as one preacher says, it can begin with five minutes of doing nothing, and just being with God. It is giving ourselves, and our Lord and savior five minutes out of the 1,440 minutes that we have in a day.

While this may sound easy, it really is not especially in this fast-paced world. As a mom, what can we do in five minutes? Well, we can check our email, we can load laundry, we can pick up some toys, we can even take a quick, five-minute shower. But doing nothing before God for five minutes? Some would actually and instinctively search for their phones on the 120th second of doing nothing. Much of us are so used to being too busy that our minds bog down and panic the second we are not doing or thinking of anything.

But this busy-ness is actually what the disciple James, the brother of Jesus warned us about. In his Epistle, He said those who are perceived as materially wealthy will just wither like dried up flowers as they continue to pursue their businesses.

"For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away." 
James 1:11

In the old Testament, the prophet Haggai also warns about too much toiling and misplaced priorities. His warning is just proof that even in the olden times, people managed to overly compact their schedules and their minds without knowing what the right things to pursue.

"You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes." Haggai 1:6

So as moms, what do we stand to benefit from being still for five minutes with God? Well, it can be a start of daily, intentional quiet time with the Lord. Just sitting still alone in a room, and literally doing nothing, and not thinking of anything except the Lord’s goodness, could prompt us to pray. It gives us the opportunity to be in awe of God’s faithfulness in our lives.

And as we develop that habit of just being still before God, we could unconsciously reflect about our day, about our week, and then our lives. We will get to realize both the good things and bad things that have happened to us, and the good and bad things we have caused to happen. Hopefully it could spur us to repent about it, and ask for the Lord’s forgiveness.

Being still before God also helps build our character as a follower of Jesus, and as a mother. It helps us seek God. And as we try to get into this habit, it could give the Holy Spirit a way to penetrate into our lives and do its holy work in us. And as we evolve, our family and other people around us will stand to benefit too.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." 
Ezekiel 36:26-27

So how do we, busy mothers, practically carry out this five minute challenge? We first have to choose a time and place. We should choose a time when we are almost 90% never gonna be distracted by the children. So this could possibly be very early in the morning while they are asleep, when they all leave home for school, or at night when everyone is in bed. The place could be a room where we can be alone without distractions, or any place at home like the kitchen table if we are just by ourselves.

After that, let us remove any possible distractions. Turn off the TV or any music. The devices should all be in silent mode and possibly in another part of the house. If you have a non-mobile phone timer, it will be best to use it but you can just use your wall clock to check the time..

When you are alone and all set, allow yourself to be still. You can close your eyes while sitting down (do not sleep!) or just open your eyes. You can choose to communicate with God if you think you have something to say, but do not be in an active prayer mode asking Him for something. At the most thank Him for your current circumstances and just be still.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 
Psalm 46:10

I cannot promise that there will be a dramatic change in your life immediately after your first time doing it. But getting into the habit, I am pretty sure that you will find yourself prolonging this time, hopefully to chat more with God and relish His presence. Hopefully, it could prompt you to seek His answers, either by sitting and praying there for much longer or by reading the bible or your devotional book, or all of the above.

At the end of the day un-busying oneself is something that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is urging us on to do. He Himself takes time to be alone and just commune with the Heavenly Father. It may not change your life or your motherhood right away, but it will surely make you realise that there is a higher being that is in control of the world, and that higher being is calling you to be still and know that He is there, and you can unburden your problems on Him.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 37 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Have you ever tried to be still before the Lord?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for offering to listen to me. Give me the confidence to fully surrender my time, and my life to you. I know that you only have the best plans for me and I could live those plans as my will align to yours. I love you Jesus. Amen.