How Tidying Up Your Quiet Time Can Spark Your Joy in Jesus

Marie Kondo. Heard of her? She has become famous for teaching people how to declutter their homes. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this summary video should help: 10 Amazing Tips from Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.

If you do know what I’m talking about, have you tried any of her methods? I’ll confess that I’m totally in love with the clothes folding. I can actually see everything in my drawers now! (As a side note, I’m not promoting her amiss spirituality, just saying that she sure does know how to organize.)

There are some areas of my life that could use some reorganization even more than the bottom of my closet, though. Take my time with Jesus, for example.

Somewhere over the years of spending daily time with Him, our space together got cluttered. It was full of things I should do to nurture my faith, books and devotionals given to me with love that I feel obligated to read, Bible reading plans that I need to try, and material from that group study that I have to do.

And what happens when our t-shirt drawer gets too full? We just grab whatever is on top, ignoring and eventually forgetting about that really special tank we got with our best friend at that conference last year. Things we love get shoved to the bottom, and we live out of whatever is convenient. 

Marie would tell you to dump everything out of that drawer where you can really see how big the pile is, then go through each item, keeping it only if it sparks joy. Let go of the rest.

I like that.

What happens when we transfer that idea back to our quiet times with the Lord? What are you doing with Him that truly sparks joy?

I suspect most of us fall into one of two categories: the cluttered quiet time or the random quiet time. Which one are you?

The Cluttered Quiet Time

You’re pretty consistent with intentionally deepening your faith and making daily time to spend with Jesus. You love reading the Bible, and journaling, and praying over that growing list of needs, and delving into that really great book, and skimming all five daily devotionals that hit your inbox, and … and … and. Maybe you even have a special time and space where you connect with the Lord. In that place you light the candle, and sip the coffee, and jot the notes, and study the Word, and send the encouraging message to your friend, and… and… and.

You love it all. You’ve added to it piece by piece as spiritual mentors have shared their own quiet time tips. You don’t want to miss out on or give up on any of it. It’s all good. Meaningful. Important.

But how much of it sparks joy in your walk with Christ? How much of it really, truly, is about just you and Him and deepening your relationship, not in one way or another pleasing someone or performing to some long-held expectation? And whose expectation is that, anyway? Did God tell you to do a, b, c through x, y, z if you want to have an abiding relationship with Him? 

I’ll leave you to sit with those questions for a minute while I move on to:

The Random Quiet Time

You love the Lord. You really do, but right now life is just. so. full. You can squeak in a moment for the “verse of the day” from your Bible reading app, sure, but it’s pretty rare that you study through a whole section of scripture or even take thorough notes during a sermon. After all, who can really do that when kids are hanging off of your arms, asking for another snack? You’ve learned to pray for people on the spot when you say you’ll pray for them because otherwise, you know it just won’t happen. And then there’s that devotional you started way back when. It was really good, but you’re pretty sure you’ve been working through it for four months, and it was supposed to be a 30-day thing. 

You miss the days when you had leisurely time with the Lord. Before life was so busy, you had enough energy for digging into the Word and remembering to pray.

Or maybe it’s not that you’re too busy. Maybe you’re just not good at establishing consistent, healthy patterns and routines. Quiet times feel like hard work, and you’d really rather be scrolling social media or watching that show. But you do want to grow in your faith, so every once in a while you listen to that encouraging podcast, or you read whatever chapter your Bible falls open to, or you search out an article of particular interest. 

You know you could use some consistency to your time with Jesus, but you’re just not sure where to start.

If either of these Random Quiet Time personas resonates with you, I’d like to ask: What truly gives you life? Are you getting by with spiritual potato chips when you could be nurturing your soul with steak and steamed veggies? Do you want, or at least want to want, a guarded, consistent time to connect with the Lord that satisfies you?

How to Begin Tidying Up

1. Talk with your Father about what He desires for you. For your relationship with Him. For those special times when you make space in your day just to be with Him. What does He long for? 

2. What do you long for? Envision it. Imagine it. What habits, spiritual practices, or daily routines would you love to incorporate regularly into your quiet time? What sparks joy in your relationship with God?

3. Give yourself permission to let go. This is your relationship with Abba. You do not have to finish that book, keep up with that study, or even stay subscribed to that blog if it has ceased to bring joy, connection, and depth to your time with God.

4. Experiment and don’t give up until you find that soul-connection with the Father that you are longing for. Maybe it won’t come at the time or in the way that you thought it would. That’s okay. Discard that method and try something new. We are each wired differently, and the ways we connect best to God are unique. 

5. Give thanks. That we are privileged, chosen even, to have a personal relationship with the Almighty is absolutely incredible. He is the source of love. Of life. Of joy. There is no greater gift than being allowed to dwell in His presence. We are people in whom Christ delights. He sings over you. He waits for you to turn your eyes to Him and He rejoices when you enter His embrace. Thank Him. Over and over again, thank Him for the treasure of knowing Him and being known by Him.

What do you find sparks the most joy in your relationship with Jesus? Please share in the comments!