One of the best things about diaper bags is that they have a lot of
pockets. The pockets can be big or small. Can hold snuggly or loosely.
Can be inside the bag, within the bag flaps, on the sides, or even be
incognito.
Much like these pockets, every person has tiny pockets of time
throughout the day that she can use for various things. These are
usually in-between moments like travelling, waiting, or mini-gaps
after lunch or break times and then work resumption.
Most often, these lull times are used to scroll social media or check
emails, or just watch short videos. But what if we use these minutes
to spend time with God?
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
Many of the people who will say that they do not have a lot of time to
dedicate to Bible reading and Quiet Time of prayer and reflection,
have pockets of lull times throughout their schedule. Usually though
these lull times are defaultly devoted to aimless wandering in the
social media sphere. And while that can be entertaining for some, it
is mostly unsettling for people prone to envy, covetousness,
depression, and anxiety. Imagine repeatedly seeing possibly curated
lies about the life of other people while comparing it with your own
situation. Or being embroiled in the current political issues , or the
drama in so and so’s life? Tiring right? And for supposedly harmless
content? Do we really need to hear unwholesome words, too much
commercialism, and updates on other people’s worldly pursuits? And we
wonder why the people of this generation are dubbed as the anxious
ones.
“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn
my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your
word.” Psalm 119:36-27
If we can only muster the courage to miss out on what the world has
been feeding our minds, we will be able to get our hands and open our
hearts and minds on what truly matters.
“Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
Choosing to spend time reading the word, and reflecting on it can work
wonders on our own life. We get to build for ourselves and our loved
ones a good foundation in terms of moral and spiritual strength.
In the Gospel of John, our Messiah Himself encouraged us to build our
lives around His teachings. When we become hearers and doers of His
word, we get to know the truth, and this truth will strengthen our
hearts against the inevitable calamities we will face in life.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put
them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matt 7:24-27
When we spend pocket moments to open our bibles, take notes and
reflect on the passage we have read, we allow the Lord to come into
our life. When we choose to listen to a sermon, a homily or preaching
as we go through traffic, and reflect on what we hear, we get to learn
more about our Lord. When we choose to listen to praise music, we
become more aware of His presence. And when we spend our lull moment
talking to God about what we are thankful for, what we want to ask
guidance for and, what we are sorry about, we get to inch closer to
our Heavenly King.
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message
is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17
When we choose to use our pocket moments to praise and worship God, it
will help us remember how much He has been faithful to us in spite of
our sinfulness. And when we look back on how He delivered us from our
past difficulties, we help ourselves get calm even amidst challenges
we are facing. This is because we will know in our hearts that if God
brought us through it before, He will bring us out of whatever
difficult situation we are in today. And that no matter what the
future holds, we have a Heavenly Father who is looking out for us.
“I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13:6
So practically speaking, what are these lull moments in our life? Well
for moms, the pocket moments could be the time we spend while washing
the dishes, or when loading and unloading the washing machine, and
folding clothes. For office workers, this could be the commute or
drive time, the few minutes after lunch, or the afternoon break time.
There are pocket lull times even for the busiest person.
And so the challenge is, where will we intentionally pour these
minutes. Will we just let it down the drain through doom scrolling, or
do we turn it into precious minutes spent getting closer to God?
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to
ponder on Matt 7:21-29 and Psalm 119:1-8 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Where do you use your pocket times? Has it helped
add value to your life?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me
to draw closer to you. I praise you for your enduring love and
patience to me. Grant me the courage to miss out on things that seem
important but are really not, and instead invest my time on
strengthening my relationship with you. I want to get to know you more
through Your words, and so I thank you for the opportunity to grow in
faith. Amen.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8a
