Wasting Away

The way you spend your leisure time is an indication of who you actually are. – A.W. Tozer

VOUS Church, Rich Wilkerson Jr. 7 Rules for Self Discovery; Waste or Create. May 5,2019

A.W. Tozer has become one of my favorites to read, and I’ve tried to let the wisdom that he spoke to really resonate in my heart. How do you spend your leisure time? Is your leisure time fully self focused? Is it spent giving back within in your community? Is it spent helping your family? In your leisure time do you just waste the time that you are given? God does not want us wasting the time that we are given. In our leisure time are we creating a life that is reflective of our creator.

Sundays are my favorite day because it is a reminder that it is a day with our creator and with my family. We rest, play, maybe take a nap and just enjoy each other. This leisure time with my family on Sundays gets me ready for the week. Sunday is the reminder that we are not made to handle all of it on our own. I am not going to lie, in the summer time when I am home with the girls all day, there are days where I just want to have time for myself. At times when I get that time for myself I wish I could say that I spend that time nourishing my soul with what it needs, but that it isn’t always true. I have learned that my view of needing time for myself has to change and be happy with the small victories. For example, the other day all three of my girls were happily swimming and playing in the pool for 30 minutes; during that time I got to sit by the pool and read without being interrupted. Instead of being mad that it wasn’t enough I had to be grateful for what I was given. During that leisure time while they swam, I spent it nourishing my soul spiritually. There truly is a difference when I start my day being led spiritually than when I rely on my own strength.

The quote in the picture on the left is one of my all time favorites. You know the feeling that you have for something more. The feeling that you are missing something. Let me tell you, because He made you, there will always be a longing, but if you are chasing an earthly thing, your focus and your heart aren’t in the right place. What you are really searching for is Him. The longing you are wanting is the need to be closer to Him. Nothing you read on Instagram or Facebook is going to bring you the fulfilment you’re searching for. When these reminders come to me it reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, “Do what feeds your soul, not eats it.” Is what you are doing in your leisure time feeding and nourishing your soul the way God desires it to be fed? His love and His wisdom are the only thing that will sustain you long term. You can rely on your strengths and what your flesh wants but eventually it will eat you up and swallow you whole. If we put as much effort into making time for ourselves as we did making purposeful time with our creator can you imagine how unstoppable we would be? Can you imagine how much less exhausted we would be?

As we go through this week I pray that you evaluate your leisure time. I pray that when you have your leisure time you think about what is feeding your soul. I pray that you begin to see your leisure time as a chance to create something not just for yourself but for others, a chance to bring glory to our creator. When our view of our leisure time changes from ourselves, it reminds us of the capacity that God has created within us.