More Of God

Do you ever feel distracted in your spiritual life?

I think, if we’re honest, it’s something many of us can relate to.  We long to encounter more of God, but life is just so busy.  The demands of work and family life can pile up leaving us short of time and, even when we do attempt to set aside time to spend with God, it can be hard to focus.

There’s the danger that our times with God can become dry and dull – just another item on our to-do list – and then feelings of guilt and condemnation can leave us wondering why God would even want to spend time with us anyway!

If you identify with any of these struggles, then I’m happy to be able to tell you about a new book by one of my blogging friends which provides valuable encouragement and advice.

Betsy De Cruz and I connected through a blog link-up and we have been visiting one another’s blogs regularly for a while now.  I have always appreciated her insights into different methods of spending time with God so I was pleased to hear about the launch of her book.

In it, Betsy shares openly about her own struggles in this area, but also shares a whole range of helpful tips and practical techniques that have helped her connect with God in a more meaningful way.

There were three things in particular I loved about this book:

1. The encouragement to view our time with God not as a duty, but as a privilege, with a sense of excitement and anticipation

There is even the suggestion of looking at our time with God as a “date,” recognising that, just as regular quality time together is important to maintain a human relationship, it is also important in our relationship with God.

“When I remember this is my precious chance to drop everything aside and draw near to my Creator, it helps me get intentional about focusing on Him.  When I remind myself that this is my golden opportunity to receive guidance for my day and strength for my heart, it creates a desire to take advantage of special moments with my Savior.”

2. The realistic approach to spending time with God.

Much as we may long to spend hours with God in solitude and silence, few of us actually have time to do that, but as Betsy points out:

“Actually taking 15 minutes for ourselves today will do our soul more good than dreaming of the perfect 3-hour retreat that never happens.”

The suggestions that are offered in the book are manageable and realistic.  There is also lots of grace.  Too often guilt and shame can hold us back in this area, but this book contains many reminders of how God delights in whatever time we do spend focused on him.  He sees our challenges and our responsibilities, and he sees our hearts.  What matters is not the amount of time we spend with him but whether our hearts are turned towards him.

“Maybe we make it too hard to be a prayer warrior.  Instead of awesome faith victories and one-hour prayer vigils, let’s aim for small step in the right direction.”

3. Many helpful creative ideas to help us make our time with God meaningful

There are tips and practical suggestions on several different aspects of time with God: methods for reading the Bible, tips on prayer, creative ways to connect with God using art or music, encouragement to memorise Scripture, ways to maintain our connection with God throughout the day, or when life is tough.

There will be something here for everyone, whatever your personality type or situation.  I have already tried a couple of the new ideas I discovered in the book and there are others that I am keen to try soon.

If you long for a deeper connection with God, this book may just be the thing to help you along the way.

What about you?  What struggles do you find in connecting with God?  Do you have any tips that have helped you in this area or ideas that have worked for you?

More of God is released on 26th February.  You can find out more here and order at Amazon on these links: UK, US.  And be sure to visit Betsy’s blog here.

I’m grateful to Betsy for access to a complementary digital copy of this book.  This is my honest review and I only share books here that I genuinely believe will be beneficial to my readers.

Amazon links are not affiliate links, but simply provided for your convenience.

.Inspire Me Monday