Recently I was challenged to have my quiet time in the morning before I did anything else.
While I’m quite consistent about having a quiet time, I had fallen into the habit of doing a lot of little things on my way to have a quiet time – check email, respond to the urgent ones, and other little things.
The result was that way too often I found myself running out of time and cutting my time with the Lord short. I can get by with that once in a while, but when it begins to happen more times than not I end up in trouble by not getting fed properly on the Word or having time to pray.
“Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines,”… Song of Songs 2:15
Notice the word “little”.
One of the dictionary meanings of tweaking is: to make a minor adjustment to: as in to tweak a computer program.
Ann VosKamp says it like this:
[Tweet ” “A pail with a pinhole loses as much as the pail pushed right over. A whole life can be lost in minutes wasted… in the small moments missed.” Ann VosKamp”]
Make gratitude your attitude of habit — there’s no other way to make joy your life.
[Tweet “Small things done consistently, consistently make the biggest change.” Anne VosKamp”]
Every little day just has to be just a little bit better.
Notice again the words she uses, pinhole, small moments, little, small things..
Charles Spurgeon says this about the little foxes:
“A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable.”
I know the Lord is speaking to me when I begin hearing the same message from several sources like the examples I’ve given here.
I love what Ann VosKamp says, “Small things done consistently, consistently make the biggest change.”
I tend to want to make big sweeping changes and I falter because it often seems so overwhelming.
“The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything.”-C H Spurgeon
What if we all ask the Lord what is that one little change He wants us to make, and then we do it consistently? Step by step, slowly but surely change will happen.
What little change is the Lord asking you to make? If you leave me a note in the comments I will pray for you.
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Finding Joy in the Journey,
4 Comments
Trena
Yep…. the little things. Gotta make changes one-step-at-a-time. We didn’t get into the “bad habit” overnight, it was a progressive, slow change. So why do we think we can start a “new (good) habit” overnight?
#AfterMyCoffee link-up
Phyllis Sather
It really sneaks up on you doesn’t it? I think I’m doing well, then I look around and easily see where I’m out of order in another area. Thank goodness for grace and mercy.
Lori
Thank you for sharing this. I have gotten away from having my devotions first thing after my husband leaves for work. I too allow other things to cause me to not spend as much time with the Lord as I have done in the past. This is something I’m going to start working on again. Thank you for linking up with Thankful Thursdays.
Phyllis Sather
It’s easy to slip, isn’t it? I think it’s rather like juggling and I’m not very good at keeping all my plates in the air at the same time.