When it takes longer than you were hoping.

Occasionally, I get this feeling of unrest and nothing I do seems to fix it. There’s no apparent cause, I just get this sort of… ache or longing. It happened earlier this morning and I couldn’t focus on anything.

Until, I realized I hadn’t spent time with God in the past few days.

I’m currently working my way through another Flectio Journal and after looking at the dates thought, “I probably should’ve about filled this book by now.” Sure enough, had I been faithfully reading everyday I would’ve filled this 40 day journal yesterday. I’m on page 15.

Now I felt defeated. However, the point of all of this is simply to spend time with God, and each day is a step forward. I grudgingly turned to my next reading in Isaiah and picked-up where I left-off.

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters…” –Is. 55:1

“Why do you spend… your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me…
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live…” –Is. 55:2–3

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near…” —Is. 55:6

Suddenly, that feeling of unrest? Gone. The sense of defeat? Removed. It’s not about completing a task or getting through a number of readings in that same number of days. It’s about building a relationship and spending some time with the Father who loves you.

And since I wrote about it on page 15, I can actually look back and see : Not only am I one step further in my journey but even if I forget what God has said over the years, I can read first-hand about His faithfulness to me and get a quick refresher on what I’ve learned (regardless of how long it’s taken).