You heard from God when he wanted you to be a pastor, when you were running towards Him.
Making space with Him the priority in your life.
But now you are so busy. Your to do list keeps getting longer.
It seems like everyone needs something from you.
You still manage to be with Him but it is for things like
- Preparing sermons
- Praying for others
- Seeking his will for your church
You do talk about God, and research in His word, often telling others about Him.
But the truth is…
Your private time with Him is for everyone else and not yourself.
Now let’s get back to connecting with Him for you and your personal relationship.
How Pastors Can Get Back to God
I know you are a pastor and you love to tell others about God and His love.
But, do you take the time out of your busy schedule to just rest in his presence like you used to?
I know what you are thinking. I am a pastor of course I spend plenty of time with God. And believe me I know this about you.
But I’m talking about for yourself. Listening to what he is wanting you to know.
He might be telling you things like
- Scale back and rest more, honor the sabbath.
- Being bi-vocational was what I wanted for you, but now start transitioning into full time ministry.
- Prioritize your marriage and take some intentional steps.
Maybe you don’t want to hear these things from Him and staying busy is your excuse not to change.
Experience has shown me that life gets busy, schedules get filled up and you can feel like you spend a lot of time with God because of the work you do and conversations you have all day.
You are in the Word preparing sermons and can easily count this as getting closer to God.
Take a step back and evaluate your personal time with Him.
You may be thinking, “I know this. I preach it to others. And I am the pastor. Of course I spend plenty of time with God.”
I do not know your personal schedule, but I do work with pastors like you and I often learn that their schedules are taking charge and their relationship with God suffers. Most are not spending the quality with Him like they want.
I also know how God’s math works.
Being with Him for yourself
can give you a boost of energy, or clarity.
He may show you something you haven’t been asking Him about.
Pastors, Try Something New
Maybe you could change it up. Try something new when you are with God.
You may start taking 5-10 minutes out of your day to
- Meditate on one scripture
- Write down a personal prayer
- Listen to God without doing all the talking
I am not a pastor, but I spend a lot of time with God. I enjoy the daily habits of reading my bible, doing devotionals, and praying for myself and others.
Last year I was challenged to start meditating on scripture. A practice called centered meditation.
This new habit of meditating on one small part of scripture allowed God to speak into my life in a new way. It was a game changer for my relationship with God.
I started with Psalms 23. I would find myself thinking about the words while having lunch alone, or standing in line at the grocery store. I would think about it during slow parts of my day instead of reaching for my phone.
I thought I would grow tired of it, but God kept showing me new things through this discipline.
God really blessed me through this new habit by showing up in my life all day long. It often slowed down my busy day, encouraged me to look more closely at a beautiful sky, or see someone in line next to me God wanted me to help.
If this isn’t part of your daily life, I would highly recommend it.
As someone who is always taking care of others start taking of yourself.
Remember even Jesus wasn’t too busy to be alone with God, and it wasn’t always for others it was for Himself too.
Allow God to show you where he wants you to change, slow down or spend more of your time.
May you pastor from wholeness.