I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples. ~John 15:1, 4-8 (CEB)
There are days that I feel that there is no time for rest. These are the times I long most for a quiet moment with God but it seems the hardest to work in. Instead, a rhythm beats through my head… do… act… work… produce… there is no room for rest, for still, for quiet.
Quiet time with God isn’t a forced, squeezed in moment, one more thing to add to a hectic day. Quiet time is when I allow God to quiet my time while I remain in His presence. It isn’t something to do but something to let happen. Again I think I have to make something happen. In this case, I am trying to force in quiet time with God but John 15 reminds me that I am already with him, I just need to remain.
There is no need to get up and find what I already have. When I remember that it isn’t about doing, it’s about being, then I find that activity doesn’t have to stop for the rhythm in my head to change from do, act, work, produce to ~be… trust… receive… respond. Quiet time is about purposing my heart not to fret. My day can go ahead as planned but holding those plans with an open hand and a willing heart.
Without a quiet spirit within me, I do not get as much accomplished in my day. When I force things to go the way I think they should go and forget to listen to the gentle rhythms of be, trust, receive, respond, I find that my work does not glorify God. I find instead of nutritious fruit a big fat mess lying at my feet. God can even turn these into applesauce or lemonade, but less work would be involved if He didn’t have to repurpose my mess.
Quiet time with God is not something I do. Rather it is something that happens when I am with God. Time can be a loud, hectic, chaotic companion. But remaining in God’s presence, He quiets my time.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your quieting Spirit that lives in me. Help me to be in Your quiet time even when chaos is my companion so that I can still produce Your living fruit. Let me be, trust, receive and respond despite my hectic schedule this day. Amen.
Pieces of the Puzzle 
Jul 28, 2017 @ 00:50:55
Thank you for sharing this thought. I am a pastor, a husband, a father, an employee, and a list of other things…I don’t find it easy to have those stereotypical “quiet times” where I can just sit down with a cup of coffee, a muffin, my Bible, a notebook, some praise music, and the sun gently rising to warm my morning. Much of my time praying is spent behind the wheel of my car or school bus. If it weren’t for God’s grace, I don’t know where I would be.
I came across this post of yours because I wanted to see if you were still blogging. Why? Because I am re-publishing a post I wrote back in 2012, one in which I shared a link to a post on your blog. It will be live this morning around 7:30.
Have a great weekend, and God bless!