Consistent Joy with David Frey
The significance of taking time out with God
In an interview with Family Life Radio, singer and songwriter, David Frey with Sidewalk Prophets very candidly shared what God had placed on his heart. “Hands down for me,” David said, “is the word joy.”
David shared how much he enjoys C.S. Lewis’ literature. In his book, Surprised by Joy, Lewis wrote: “I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again … I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.”
David believes Lewis’ quote to be very telling because as Christ followers, we know that joy only comes from your relationship with God. “Happiness is wonderful,” David said, “but it doesn’t stick around. But there’s always joy – even in the midst of our worst day.”
You always have a reason to give God praise. It can look like:
- A moment of peace on the most chaotic day.
- Standing on a mountain top, singing.
- Receiving comfort from a friend.
- Remembering all God has done for you, especially when things look dark.
Regardless, His joy is always there for us.
“There’s a beauty in the stillness and the quiet,” David shared, “and it’s so scary to turn all the noises off.”
Sometimes God is just begging you to be quiet, to listen and to not make noise. David said, “The screen can be such a devastating destroyer of your time with the Lord. It clouds all the things He is trying to tell you.”
David shared, “When we named our band, the sidewalk portion was from a Jars of Clay song. It said, ‘Images on the sidewalk speak of dreams descent.’ And I imagined a man walking down the street. Right in front of him is what God wants him to see, but he’s so busy … so worried that he never sees. He walks right by it.”
So, what does a time out with God look like? Will Graham, grandson of the famous evangelist, Billy Graham said his public speaking grandfather rarely talked at home. “During the last few years of his life, as I sat with my grandfather, there was very little talk on either side,” Will shared in an excerpt from Redeemed. He said, “Words didn’t need to be spoken.” They sat quietly resting in one another’s presence.
Avoid distractions by becoming intentional with your time out with God.
When it comes to a time out with God, you have to be extremely intentional not to become distracted. Some of the ways to make your time quiet and productive is to plan your time.
- Leave your phone in another room, on silent mode.
- Bring your Bible, but only open it if the Lord gives you a Scripture to think about.
- Bring your journal to write down whatever comes to mind. And your mind will usually fill immediately with thoughts of all the things you could be doing instead of sitting in the presence of God.
- As thoughts of all the things you need to do come to mind, write them down and then set the list to the side.
- Refuse to get up and respond to the pull of any distraction. This is your quiet time.
Don’t be like the man David Frey described who was so busy or so worried that you walk right by the joy God wants you to experience.
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