It Always Begins With the HeartSample

A Tranquil Heart

In this hectic life, spending time with God becomes a low priority. Tough jobs, demanding responsibilities at home, ever-growing traffic to beat everyday are just some of the real challenges we deal with. Being ‘busy’ is somehow an accepted reality, yet a daily struggle for many of us.

If corporate life makes us so busy, going by that standard, CEOs are possibly the busiest. The HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW did a groundbreaking 12-year study to reveal the daily lives of CEOs. The biggest struggle of all CEOs was time. There is never enough time for them to complete all that they have in mind. But, most CEOs combated this with a fixed daily routine. There were three or four practices they incorporated into their daily routine, and followed them meticulously, no matter where they were or how busy their schedule was, like reading or exercising or meeting customers; they always fixed a time for these daily habits.

As John Maxwell says, ‘You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.’

Jesus often went away to spend time alone with His Father to reconnect with His spiritual purpose through prayer. We find Him withdrawing to pray when He heard about the death of John the Baptist (Mt 14:13), after the miracle of feeding the five thousand (v 23) and before choosing His 12 disciples (Lk 6:12-13). We, too, need a structured daily prayer routine.

Psalm 46 is written in the context of a time of trouble and war. When the whole world around us is fighting it out in their respective contexts, God calls us not just to be merely comforted by His presence, but to wake up, and acknowledge Who He is, which will happen only when we spend quality time with Him exclusively.

We need to incorporate the daily spiritual habit of spending time alone with Him, abiding in His love, seeking His wisdom in decisions and understanding His purpose for our lives. Then, we will be more than ready to face any challenge the world may throw at us.

Father, help me find time daily to spend in Your presence, to be still and know that in the midst of everything, You are God. Amen