Can we just take a moment to acknowledge how crazy this year is? I know it’s been said again and again, but I think it warrants mentioning again: 2020 has been nuts. It’s been a year of struggle and grief. A year of sacrifice and tragedy. A year unlike any most of us have experienced previously. I have learned so much about myself and others. While I don’t love the way these things were revealed to me, I’m so glad that we’ve endured so much together.
More than anything else, this year has caused me to examine my foundation. I’ve had to look at my life and determine what I really believe. Who am I putting my faith in? What am I trusting? What do I believe is true? This year has felt like the fiery furnace of circumstance mentioned in Proverbs. This year has been an opportunity for us to be sharpened.
As I have been examining my faith and my life, I realized that one of the biggest things I have been missing is simply spending time with God. My prayers have often been focused around something. I would want a particular outcome or result from my prayers. Even my Bible reading could end up being an attempt to achieve a goal instead of spending time with God. I wasn’t taking the time to really savor him. I wasn’t taking the time to regularly behold God.
My faith had devolved from relational to transactional.
After I realized this, I started changing my behavior and creating more space for God to speak. Instead of trying to rush through my Bible reading to get on with my day, I started to read fewer verses and just sit with the words. I began to ask questions like: “God what do you care about?” or “What’s on your heart today?” instead of just being consumed with my own agenda. I carved out time to simply focus on God and who he is.
Out of this heart posture, I wrote Behold: 40 Days of Seeing and Savoring God. This devotional is simply an invitation for us to spend time with God. Instead of trying to rush through each day, we can slow down and really savor who God is. We don’t have to speed through the verses or the devotional, but we can choose to just pause and be. We can enjoy God and sit in wonder at who he is.
Behold: 40 Days of Seeing and Savoring God is now available on Amazon!
Do you ever struggle to sit and behold God?
How has your life changed this year?
To go Deeper: Read Silence and Slowness, Mourning Time
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Work in Progress 
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