A young woman soprano performed in concert at the church I once attended. Her voice was fresh, very pretty and expressive; I thought she showed real promise to be a professional concert singer. Her program was varied and the audience was appreciative. On the back of the printed program she gave a brief autobiography that included her musical history, her family, and finally, her hobby.

I smiled when I saw her “hobby”. It was “Taking naps.” She was a young mother with two small children and I could easily guess that her life was very busy and that a nap must have been a luxury that rose to the level of a hobby.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation; In quietness and trust is your strength.’” (Isaiah 30:15) The Old and New Testaments both emphasize the need for quiet and rest in our lives with God; “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7) and “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, and I will give you rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11;28)

In my experience the quiet and rest has to become habit, perhaps even a “hobby”in order to receive the real fulfillment of God’s promise regarding rest. Since God initiates the idea of coming to Him in peace, He also enables this. While we think of our schedules and distractions and obligations, He leads us sometimes to the early mornings, sometimes to another time of day or evening, to carve out a time and place to which we can frequently return for the rest that leads to Him.

The lovely soprano was not embarrassed to say that naps were her hobby. Is it so far fetched to say “Time alone with God is my favorite time”? The Psalmist returns to this theme in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” That God desires the time of rest with us should be enough to seek Him out in our everyday lives. I think that we can hardly imagine the goodness that would take shape in our lives if we made time alone with God our “Hobby.”

Love in Him,

Prue