Last week I tried something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while — I took a break from checking my Instagram feed. If you are at all familiar with this social media platform you know a lot can happen in an Instagram week — there’s videos and pictures and messages to see, and everything changes by the minute.
Besides feeling entirely out of the loop, I started to notice how often I get the urge to open my Instagram account — it’s just a click away after all. Suddenly I had all of these windows of time popping up begging to be used. They weren’t large windows, but they were big enough to let in some light.
I had an important decision in front of me — what else could I be doing with these fleeting moments? Squats seemed like a good idea, but I knew I’d never stick with it.
During this time I turned on a podcast titled “Fasting is feasting on God.” I suppose my Instagram break could be considered fasting, except I wasn’t entirely sure how to do the feasting part. Feasting on food is one thing, but how do you “feast” on something invisible?
All I knew was I had many opportunities throughout the day to connect with God that I was usually spending in one form of mindless distraction or another.
Could I feast on God in those moments, instead of my Instagram feed?
I can’t say that it was a perfect attempt, by any means. There were some days where I’d turn to Facebook or my e-mail as a way to fill the silence. But other times I paused, reflected on a meaningful Bible verse, gave God a little hello or thanks, or just looked my kids in their big blue eyes and really saw the beautiful lights that they are.
What I am beginning to understand is that God is everywhere, in everything, and always ready to show me something about Himself. In the Psalms 19:1 we read that:
“The heavens tell about the glory of God. The skies announce what his hands have made” Psalm 19:1 (ERV)
Creation is shouting out God’s beauty and goodness, all of the time. But it is my job to slow down, to look up, to pay attention.
I once wrote down a quote by Brene Brown that said “We stay so busy that the truth of our lives can’t catch up.” I believe we also keep ourselves so distracted that the truth of God can’t get in. During this little Instagram break I was reminded that God is always here, it is me who is not.
God is speaking. He is offering us His abundance of faith and hope and love in every moment. But like any gift these things must be received, they must be wanted. The truth is that I often wake up hungrier for social media than intimacy with God. I want to change that about myself.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” – Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
Do you see God as someone to delight in? This isn’t often my first thought. I delight in things He has made more often than the Maker himself. We can’t enjoy God if we don’t know Him, so we need to be pursuing Him, growing close to Him.
When I notice an open window of time, I want to enter it, believing God likes me, and wants me to draw near. His arms are wide open, I need only to respond.
Leave a Reply