Simply Beautiful
Join me, Amy Keck, each week as I weave the simple wisdom of Scripture with the beauty of poetry. May each reflection be a gentle reminder that faith blooms through time spent in God's word.
Simply Beautiful
Morning Light: Finding Sacred Space in a Distracted World
This episode explores how even small life changes can derail our spiritual rhythms and what we can do to reclaim that sacred space with God. Drawing from Mark 1:35, we see how Jesus himself prioritized "extremely early" mornings in "desolate places" for prayer. His example challenges us to be intentional about creating distraction-free environments where we can be truly present with God.
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Welcome to Simply Beautiful Podcast. This is Amy Keck. Thank you for joining me today. The topic today is Morning Light. Hebrews 4.13 says Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him, to whom we must give account.
Speaker 1:It has always intrigued me how a habit can be formed and maintained for 5, 10, or even 15 years and then one day, in one instance, one simple circumstance can throw the entire discipline into oblivion. It's easy to get out of a habit. Almost a year ago we moved 15 minutes out of our hometown into the countryside. You wouldn't think a short move into the woods could derail things, but it has A new home, a new place, a new schedule, an entirely new way of life. For the past year I've been scrambling to get up early to meet with Jesus. I had been getting up early for years to have my quiet time with the Lord, but after our move I have been sleeping in my morning. Discipline stayed in our old house. Somehow it didn't make the move with me. Not only that, but I've been hopping from our sofa to a chair, to the kitchen island and then to the front porch in hopes of finding my new cozy quiet time, nook.
Speaker 1:Why is it so important to plan our quiet times with the Lord? For the past year I've been fluttering around our new home trying to figure out my new place and my new time. The reality is my messy mornings have turned into messy days, which have produced a messy year. We are all too busy to not plan and prepare for our quiet times. This world is enticing us, now more than ever, to occupy our days with useless and unprofitable activities. Our planning is essential If we want to spend time with Jesus. We must make time for Jesus. We must simplify.
Speaker 1:Donald Whitney said we simplify not just to be less busy, said we simplify not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and our service to His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time that we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ. He is worth it. He's worth reordering your days. He's worth eliminating the clutter the night before, so that you have space to physically sit on a chair with him. He's worth eliminating the distractions, placing your cell phone in a drawer, turning off the television, saying no to too many things. He is absolutely worth it. You might be wondering well, when is the best time to meet with the Lord? The simple answer is anytime. Anytime is a great time to meet with Jesus.
Speaker 1:But God's Word gives us several examples of individuals rising early in the morning to have focused time with God. You know, jesus himself rose early. Mark 1, 35 says and rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark. He departed and went out to the desolate place and there he prayed. This verse tells us a couple of interesting things. It tells us it was very early in the morning. Very means extremely, so we could read the verse like this and rising extremely early in the morning, while it was still dark. It was so early, it was still dark. It was so early, it was still dark.
Speaker 1:Elizabeth Elliot often speaks and wrote about her father's disciplined habits. She mentioned that her father would rise early, often at 4.30 or 5 am, to devote time to Bible reading and prayer. This established a foundation of seeking God first in the day. She said that people would often ask Him how do you do it? How do you get up at 4.30 in the morning? He would always say by preparing the night before.
Speaker 1:You know, we can't expect to get up and spend time with Jesus after staying up till 12 or 1 o'clock in the morning. We can't expect to give our minds totally to Him whenever we have a cell phone in our hands or, for me, a pile of laundry waiting to be folded on my sofa. This brings me to the next point when is the best place to meet with the Lord? Next point where is the best place to meet with the Lord? I would wholeheartedly say anywhere that you will not be distracted. I don't know what has happened over the years, but I feel more distracted than ever before. I don't know if it's the increase in my daily responsibilities or the invention of the cell phone, but whatever it is, I must eliminate distractions.
Speaker 1:Before beginning my quiet time with the Lord, I'd like to go back to Mark 1.35 and to look to Jesus Christ as our example. And to look to Jesus Christ as our example. This verse not only tells us when he met with God, but it also tells us where he met with God. The second half of the verse says he departed and went out to the desolate place and there he prayed. Desolate literally means deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness. It kind of sounds depressing at first glance, but this is truly a wonderful place to be a place of complete solitude, bleak or bare or exposed.
Speaker 1:I love these descriptive words because they show us what happens when we pull away, when we get to a place of complete solitude, unhindered by clutter or distractions. It truly exposes us and we are laid bare before God. One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 4.13. It says Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. God does something miraculous when we spend intentional alone time with Him. He exposes areas of our lives that are not working. He shows us sins that need to be confessed and removed. He gives us rest and he fills us with living water. He fills our cup to overflowing so we can splash his goodness onto those around us.
Speaker 1:Do you have a plan? Do you have a time and a location that you like to meet with Jesus? Is your house full of distractions? Is your schedule too full for God? I encourage you to consider these things in your own life. See if there are things that you can do today that will help you tomorrow. Is there a chair that needs to be decluttered? Is there a pile of laundry that needs to be put away? Do you need to put your cell phone in a timeout? Do you need to eliminate something from your overburdened schedule? Only you can answer these things. Only you can make these changes, but I urge you to do it. You will be glowing in no time. It's hard to ruthlessly eliminate, but the reward is always worth it.
Speaker 1:I'd like to leave you with my poem entitled Morning Light. I hope it encourages you today as break of day. Tops rolling hills, darkness is put to death. Light touches everything. Till there is no gloominess left. It's morning on this great big earth. Another day to breathe. Shine your light into every nook, yes, not one corner. Leave Jesus Christ, the light to all men. Glow brightly in my heart. It's you that helps me understand that we will never part. It's you that helps me understand that we will never part. Fling open wide my heart's window. Shine into every space. May your radiance of presence Illuminate my face.
