Busy Bin

I have a bin which I keep either in my office or my living room. It contains supplies for an activity which may be silly, but which I find relaxing — coloring.

I also have several materials — books, journals, and my Bible — which I use for my devotions in the morning. When I do my devotions in a place other than my house, I add these materials to my coloring bin and carry it with me. This makes the bin rather full and heavy. When I think about how full the bin gets, I realize how easy it is for beneficial activities, such as coloring, and more importantly, my devotions, to become part of my to-do list. The materials I use when alone with God are helpful, but when they become little more than a stack to tackle, I've got problems.

But God knows my heart. He knows how to get past both the stack and the to-do list.

I guess that's why he communicates with me when I'm doing an activity such as driving or eating. Recently, he asked me a very insightful question while I was eating breakfast. It was a question concerning the direction of my life and how I would change it if I could. He showed me I can and how to get there. That question is a tool I never found in my bin.

It's good to use tools in our quiet times and throughout our days, but I find that one of the most powerful ways to connect with God is to remember that he knows us, in fact, better than we know ourselves. He knows and is able to tell us or help us find in "the stack" exactly what we need to hear.

_Dear Father, thank you for your word and your voice. Please help me to know what you would have me to know today and every day. In Jesus’ name, amen. _

Throughout This Day: Is your life cluttered with things or activities that may keep you from hearing God’s voice? What is something you can do today to push those things aside and discover what God may be telling you?