In the busy life we lead we need to be still and listen to God's word. One way of doing this is to read the Bible for long enough for it to still us, and then God will speak to us.
When you have a lot of free time then of course you are spared a lot of worldly burdens because you are less exposed to the worldly and spend more time with God, so the heart and mind are much more at peace.
God often speaks in his still and quiet voice, like He did to Elijah. Like him we should also wait and discern things until we know that it his voice we are hearing. There are plenty of other noises demanding our attention but these are not of God. We need freeing from them till God's voice becomes the loudest in our inner ear.
Listening to God is a delight but often we need to still the storms raging within us. Nearly every working day I find that I have to spend over an hour reading the Bible just to get still. But it is worth the effort, since God will at the least increase my faith level. or He will give me some worthwhile insight.
Peace is such a precious thing especially as you get older. You yearn for peace and strive for it. You look forward to weekends and holidays because then you spend more time experiencing peace and reverting to your true state.
Even if you are experiencing turmoil in the world, whether at work or for some other reason, you are still carrying within you the still presence of God. Somewhere deep within God is there and He can always bring to mind scripture verses to help you experience more peace, and calm the soul.
Sometimes physical exercise can help bring some peace, and so can walks and activity in nature. Nature is God's creation and therefore bears the stamp of His character. Through immersion in nature we can become more natural, lively, peaceable, and find rest. Our senses can be revitalised when surrounded by nature.
Praise and singing help release us into God's presence more. I am more visually orietated so I find it is more natural for me to praise God sincerely about things which really grab me. Like the sights of nature. I am not much of a singing person but songs still feature in my relationship with God. Enjoy those magnificent red and gold sunsets, and revel in the pure songs of birds first thing in the morning.
But the Bible has a different purpose and through that book we can hear God speaking in words. Also in my view faith increases a lot faster when you read the Bible than when you spend an equal amount of time in nature.
There are countless ways to help each of us getting still. Hobbies help, and contact with other trustworthy Christians do too. But for me I look to the paragraphs describing Jesus's death, burial and resurrection when most attacked spiritually. At other times when less attacked I simply read the Bible as a daily discipline.
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