The Spiritual Nature of Downtime
We live in a chaotic, noisy world. Even when alone, apart from everyone, we are bombarded with texts, emails, and social media messages. All vying for our attention. Seeking solitude and silence is not only about finding a quiet place. It's about discovering the beauty of removing ourselves from the cacophony of alerts, alarms, and messages to find rest in the Word, in Jesus. It because of this your downtime, or free time, is your best opportunity for spiritual growth. A commitment to using your downtime to find rest in God's Word will determine what, if any, fruit you produce with your life.
It is true that if you and I fail to leverage our downtime, the fruit our lives produce will be a result of the world's influence and not God's influence. In other words, you and I will live out of a response to the world and our worries instead of an overflow of our relationship with God. The world and its messages will compel and drive our actions, not God's still, small, loving voice. So, we all must choose what to do with this divine opportunity to quiet our souls.
Psalm 1:1–3 says, "How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
Growth in this area is the result of intentional effort. The quiet of our souls does not happen simply because we remove ourselves. John 15:4–5 says, "Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me." The act of "remaining" is an intentional act, a decision you must make. Do not make the mistake of believing that because you are a Christian that you are "remaining." One can be a Christian for 20 or 30 years and never experience the beauty of remaining or finding rest in the Lord's presence. Even as Christians, you and I need to intentionally guard ourselves and our time, intentionally turning toward the Lord, drawing closer to him, lest we get swept away by the constant torrent of demands.
No Decision is a decision. Not deciding what to do with your downtime is a decision to allow your time to be overtaken by the lowest common denomination - the easier thing to do. Conversely, James 4:8 encourages us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” If we use our downtime to draw closer to God, we will experience more closeness with God. The reverse is also true. If we do not use our time to draw closer to God, we will not experience closeness to God.
Intentionality is a word you may notice I repeat. The reason is that you and I can not stop life from demanding our attention. The demand is ever-present. Therefore, if you and I are not intentional in setting boundaries around our free time, the world will steadily try to steal it from us and, consequently, our rest in the Lord. In Luke 8:14), Jesus reminds us, "As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit." To avoid being "choked by worries," you and I must push back on the demands of life and protect our relationship with God.
Make a decision to intentionally invest in your relationship with Jesus. Trustworthy advice is to set a time, set a place, and set your mind. Set a time to spend in prayer and protect that time. Psalm 63:1–2 says, "O God, You are my God; Early (eagerly) will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You. In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary To see Your power and Your glory.” The Psalmist said, "Early I will seek you." That's a time. He was eager and when we are eager for something, we make time for it. We protect that time. Set a place - Psalm 91:1–2, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Where is your secret place, the place where you rendezvous with God? Set a place where there is a history of you encountering God and being moved by his spirit. If you don't have one, find it and build a history between you and your Father. Set your mind - Colossians 3:1–4 says, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." Set your mind on what is above. Use your prayer times to refine your focus and remind yourself of eternal realities and the glory of God. Yes, we carry life's burdens to the Lord in prayer, but we must remember to leave them there.
Our downtime is a divine opportunity to find rest and comfort in our Lord.
