Quantity Time

Happy Sunday,

“His delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.”

Psalm 1:2 (CSB)

How are your quiet times?
Years ago, my mom (hi, mom!) asked me if I was spending regular time with God. I told her that I had missed my quiet time that morning but would have one tomorrow.

Her answer was amazing: “You know, it’s not even noon. Why not have a quiet time tonight?”

I went on to explain that I have my best quiet times in the morning. So, I had missed my shot to commune with God for that day because it was already 10:30 AM. Alas… maybe tomorrow. (It was one of my better speeches.)

Fast forward to a year ago, when I heard one of our church’s elders (hi, Dale!) challenge young fathers to focus on spending quantity time with their kids. Just log hours with them, and trust that the quality times will happen when you’re simply around enough.

That is what I was misunderstanding about my relationship with God.

Yes, quality time matters. But so does quantity. And in my experience, quantity is undervalued. Show me any 10-second clip of The Office and I can likely tell you what was happening prior, what’s about to happen, and how it fits into the series as a whole. This is true even though I have spent very little “quality time” with The Office; it’s just been on in the background of my life, a lot. 

When it came to my relationship with God, I’d mistakenly believed that quality time was all that mattered. So spending time with God wasn’t worth it if it couldn’t be ideal: at 5 AM with a hot coffee by a raging fireplace in perfect silence.

The problem is, non-quality time still shapes us. 

So here’s my challenge to you: spend quantity time with God this week. Definitely still have a (quality) quiet time, but also listen to Christian music, think about Jesus, read books about him, listen to sermons about him, and talk about Jesus with friends. Seek to saturate your life with him.

Try it for a week and see how you feel.

What do you think?
Jason

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P.S. FWIW, a great way I have found to increase my quantity time with God is Dwell, the best audio Bible app I've found. I have accidentally listened to entire books of the Bible while walking the dog because of Dwell. Get 25% off through this link*.

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