How many times have we said to ourselves, “If I only had some time to think!”. We get so caught up in our day to day activities and the pressures of the urgent that we don’t find time to sit and think, plan and be strategic. The grind of trying to stay on top of all of the emails, phone calls, meetings and project work doesn’t leave much time for any of us to sit down with a clear mind and think about the future or the the things we have in front of us that need deep and long thoughts. There was a book that came out a few years ago about the it being an art to be able to think and conceptualize the long view of the future. But even like any art, there are foundational disciplines below the art form that are required before one can do anything well. A painter who doesn’t understand color, a writer with poor grammar, a songwriter who can’t play an instrument, or a business leader who can’t find the time to think, are all efforts that are undermined by not having the fundamentals understood and perfected before trying to layer on the next level of creativity. Finding and carving out the time to think is a fundamental part of finding success in business. The same is true of our spiritual lives and the quest to be closer to the Lord. Without the quiet time we cannot place our minds where they need to be in order to focus and hear what God wants to say to us. We need time to let our minds be free and ponder. In the beautiful Psalm 111, David reminds us why we should take the time to think about what God has done for us; “How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them.” Today, find some thinking time first to spend with God and then to spend thinking about those things that are important to that need deeper thought. If you can find the quiet time for God first and commit to that time, I have a confident feeling that you will be amazed at how you will find the time for the other thinking too.

Reference: Psalm 111:2 (New Living Testament)