I knew a little girl who, when she should have been sleeping, was listening intensely to the voices of her parents in the next room.  She leaned in to hear conversations between her mom and dad.  She wanted to be included in anything they were discussing, so she sat very still and very attentive.

She reminds me of myself during these past thirty-one days of sabbatical!  All the time we’ve been away resting, I have known that the Lord was speaking and I didn’t want to miss it!  Of course, that was a huge reason for our time away from ministry – so we could spend greater times in Quiet with our God.  Just like Whitney that little girl, I wanted to be intentional not to waste this time, or to miss His voice.

So, let me start today with sharing just one Truth I heard the Lord say to my heart:

Being unplugged is necessary for a portion of each day.  We spent time in some remote areas while we were away, meaning there was no Internet connection.  We also made the choice one day to leave our phones behind. Let me say it – it was good!  It kept me from being distracted from what was happening. It allowed me to really hear what was going on around me instead of feeling I had to jump and respond to every “ping” that happened on my phone, tablet or computer.  It made me rest.  Really, really, rest.

When I realized what the Lord was teaching me in little snippets of my day, I took this truth into my Quiet time each morning. Yep, I unplugged.  Instead of getting up in the morning and quickly checking through any new Instagram pictures, fresh email or text messages, I went straight to my Bible app for my reading plan and nowhere else.  Then while studying, a buzz or notification may have alerted me, but with God’s enablement, it did not distract me. I just ignored it. As a matter of fact, I waited each day until after I was completely dressed and ready for the day to connect once again to the Internet.

How did being unplugged help me?

1. It allowed me to stay focused on what God’s Word was saying to me.
2. It made my devotional time richer because I realized that I had been connecting more to what everyone else was doing every minute of the day than I was what God wanted to speak into my life.
3. My prayer time was sweeter because it was uninterrupted.
4. I got more accomplished each morning!
5. It made me see how much time I had been wasting on temporal things.
6. It made me really prioritize my time with the Lord.

God has important things to say to me and I don’t want to miss it!  I will, with His grace, continue to discipline myself in this area of my life!

Anyone can feel free to text, add Instagram pics or notify me of things on Facebook.  You won’t distract me because my phone will be in “silent” mode.  And I’ll be happy to answer you, but it will just be a little later in the day – after I’ve heard God’s voice and found out what He’s doing today!

Could you use less time on your phone or devices?  I challenge you to

• Unplug for a period of time each day – especially needful during your time with the Lord.
• Make meal times a “No Phone Zone.”
• Make one day a week a Sabbath rest from your phone. 
• Set a timer when you go to check Facebook or Instagram. That way you’ll only be on for a limited time (say ten minutes), rather than letting 30 minutes escape while you scroll.

Anyone else feel the need to Unplug?

With a listening ear,