God Time: Quality Over Quantity

This post is by Jen Stanbro.

Just before my first born came into the world, I began reading up on breast-feeding. There are so many incredible nods to God’s awesomeness in the way He carefully designed nursing to be a special time between a mom and her beloved, where mom provides the important things baby needs for healthy development, from cognitive health to a strong immune system, and far beyond. Amid gobs and gobs of information on the subject, I came across one bit that particularly amazed me. 

Typically, the milk at the beginning of a nursing session is thinner and more diluted. As baby continues to nurse, the milk increases in creamier, whiter, nutrient-richness, until baby perfectly receives everything she needs. 

Given this process, one might conclude that the longer baby lingers, the more goodness she gets. But here’s the crazy part, the length of the nursing session does not determine how much of all the important stuff baby gets. A baby who nurses for forty minutes gets just what she needs spread out over forty minutes, while a baby who nurses for just five minutes receives everything she needs in those five minutes! Mom’s body takes note of baby’s nursing patterns and responds by distributing the fullness of provision in whatever length of time her unique baby spends nursing. Isn’t that just amazing?

But wait, there’s more! In addition to the milk’s nourishment, time spent close to mom also has profound benefits to baby’s emotional development, which in turn enhances baby’s physical well-being. It’s the perfect analogy for our quiet time with God! 

I entitled this post, “God Time: Quality over Quantity.”  In reading that, you might have thought that there was going to be some advice in here about what you could do to enhance the quality of your time with the Lord. But the beauty is that the only thing you ever need to do is come. Just show up. Bring nothing but your need. Like an infant with her mother. 

God brings all that we need. His soothing, comforting nearness brings peace (John 14:27, Philippians 4:7) and gratitude, lightens our hearts, and ultimately, literally alters the chemistry in our body. Fun Fact: Did you know that even a healthy food like broccoli does not have the same nutritional benefit to the person who’s eating it while stressed that it does for the person who’s eating it contented? Stress inhibits the body’s ability to extract the full benefit of the food. The way we nourish and care for our mind, soul and spirit, directly affects our physical state. Proverbs 17:22 says, “a happy heart is good medicine,” and it is God alone who can give us true joy in our hearts.  In our time with Him, He provides us with all we need for healthy ‘brain-function’ by giving us a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), namely, the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and the authority to take every thought captive to obey Him (2 Corinthians 10:5).  As we feed on God’s Word and enjoy His presence, like the muscular, skeletal, or respiratory systems, He strengthens our foundational ‘systems’ of mind, soul and spirit. He fortifies our spiritual immune system against attacks from the enemy, the world, and battles with our own flesh. 

God has given us mothers and their babies to demonstrate beautiful truths about His role in our lives. When we pause to be with Him, He is faithful to provide all that we uniquely need in the time we have.

Don’t get me wrong, more time spent with God will always be beneficial. Just like more time spent with mom will always fill up tiny love tanks. But God can use any amount of time to the fullest. He can provide the same powerful nourishment in five minutes or forty. So, if you give Him forty, enjoy and receive every minute of it! If today, you have even just one minute in the presence of the Most High, He will work His miraculous provision in every life-giving second. 

Jen Stanbro is the singer/songwriter behind the Hello Mornings podcast theme song, “God Day.” She lives in North Carolina with her husband and crew of cuckoo kids. Her heart aches for the oppressed and marginalized, and she seeks to reignite God’s holy fire in the hearts of His people to love courageously like Jesus.

Photo by Tim Bish on Unsplash