Seven minutes.
I heard “seven minutes” and my eyes welled up with tears.
A podcast was making me cry.
I was listening to Michael Hyatt’s leadership podcast, and he was talking about adjusting your goals for different seasons of life.
He is now an empty-nester with five grown daughters. He has an awesome company, works out with a trainer, takes an annual sabbatical, and reads the Bible cover to cover each year during his extended morning quiet time. His story is an inspiration for sure…
But he didn’t always read the Bible each year. He used to read the Bible for seven minutes a day.
He explained when his girls were young, he worked a full-time job out of the home, and he had so many demands on his time that it was hard to find a time to be quiet before the Lord. His goal was to be faithful to read the Bible for seven minutes a day.
As a mom of two, just emerging from the past year that included a new baby, a move, and a dissertation, my quiet times have been more of the “seven minute” variety lately. I started a year-long Bible plan during 2015 that’s turned into a year-and-a-half plan since Talitha was born. I still read Scripture pretty much every morning, but it’s often only a chapter or two. Sometimes I’m distracted or tired and catch myself halfway down the page without any recollection of the verses I just read. Sometimes I rush through the reading because I hear the girls starting to stir (aka yell) from their cribs, while my heart cries out for another two or three minutes alone.
Seven minutes is often all I have in this season of life.
But I know this is just a season, and I know the Lord is pleased with my faithfulness. In Christ, my seven minutes can honor the Lord, even when I am tired or distracted. He cares about my heart more than my performance, and my heart longs for more of Him. Most importantly, I know God is faithful to me in my reading. He will show up in seven minutes. His Word does not return to Him empty. His character can be revealed in a few moments or a few verses. His Spirit is at work even when the children are stirring in their beds.
So whether you can meet with the Lord for just one minute or for a full hour in this season of life, do not grow weary of coming before Him. He is faithful. His word is powerful. His Spirit is at work. He can multiply the seven minutes in your life like a cup that overflows.
