HOW CAN I BUILD MY LIFE AROUND GOD? – MAKING SPACE

A POINT OF RESET

It’s the start of a new school year. After the six-week school holiday and having just returned from a couple of weeks away, my normal rhythms have been somewhat disrupted.

As things begin to return to “normal”, I find myself at what feels like a point of reset — effectively the beginning of a new season.

There are many of these moments in life. A new school year. Returning from holiday. The beginning of a new job. A birthday. A change in circumstances. The start of a new year. Or simply a moment when we realise that something in our lives isn’t quite as we would like it to be.

We can choose to let these moments pass by, wearily slipping back into the old routines and patterns of life.

Or we can choose to pause for a few moments and reflect.

WHO AM I BECOMING?

At times like this, and particularly when I feel a little lost or wayward in how I am living, I find myself asking a simple question:

“Am I becoming the person I want to become?”

It’s a deceptively simple question.

To answer it honestly, I first need to have some idea of who I am and who I would like to become.

We don’t usually wake up one morning and suddenly become a particular kind of person. Change happens through the many small choices that we make repeatedly – the things we give our attention to, the habits we allow to form, the people we spend our time listening to or being with and the way we respond to the ordinary circumstances of life. All these things are shaping us. The question is not, “Am I becoming someone?” Because clearly I am. The question is, “Am I becoming the person I want to become?”

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

So, take some time to ask yourself,

What kind of person do I want to be?

What do I want my life to be shaped around?

What do I want to give my time, energy and attention to?

And, most importantly, what does it mean to become the person God is calling me to be?

The answer usually prompts a second question:

“What do I need to change in my life to become that person?”

THE PROBLEM OF DISTRACTION

The world in which we live is incredibly noisy. It’s chaotic, busy and full of distraction.

I know how easily I can get caught up in it.

I can become distracted by work, by responsibilities, by the things I think I need to achieve, by my phone, by other people’s expectations and by all the little things that fill my day.

And then, sometimes quite suddenly, I realise that the one thing that matters most has become the one thing I’ve neglected. My awareness of God’s presence with me has been crowded out.

One of the greatest challenges we face isn’t that we don’t have enough time, but that our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions.

We can be physically present in one place while our minds are somewhere else entirely. We can sit quietly with a cup of coffee and still be scrolling through our phones. We can be walking through beautiful countryside and spend the whole walk listening to something rather than noticing where we are.

And perhaps this is why making space can feel uncomfortable at first. When the noise stops, we become aware of just how noisy our minds have become.

That’s why I come back to those two questions.

Am I becoming the person I want to become?

And what do I need to change to become that person?

They aren’t questions designed to make me feel guilty about what I haven’t done.

They are questions that help me stop.

They help me notice.

They help me turn around.

They draw me back to the path of following Jesus.

For me, those questions have increasingly become about something deeper than simply becoming a better version of myself. They have become about building my life around God in a way that makes space for me to notice and become more aware of His presence throughout my day.

And that inevitably means making space.

MAKING SPACE FOR GOD

I realise that being constantly aware of God’s presence may seem beyond our reach. But perhaps it is something we grow into. God longs to share His life with us, and we have a lifetime to learn what it means to live in that awareness.

I certainly haven’t arrived there.

But I have found that simply having moments throughout the day when I stop and turn my attention back towards God can make an enormous difference.

So I ask myself:

If this is the person I want to become, and if I want to build my life around God, what can I do to make space for Him?

It’s not about working harder.

It’s about being intentional.

If I want to live life to the full, then I need to recognise where that fullness is found. Jesus said,

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

(John 10:10)

For me, that fullness isn’t found by filling my life with more. It comes from building my life around God.

We may assume that change means adding something to what we feel is an already overcrowded life. 

I should pray more. Read the Bible more. Exercise more. Organise my time better. Get up earlier.

None of these things are wrong in themselves. But, trying to add more to an already crowded life can easily lead to disappointment and feelings of failure. 

Perhaps the change we need isn’t about adding more, but re-evaluating what is truly important and letting go of some of the things that are getting in the way. 

Only then can we begin to build new rhythms into our lives that help us become more attentive to God’s presence throughout the day. Rhythms that create space for a deeper relationship with Him and allow us to rest in the knowledge that we are loved.

In what ways can we make space for God?

There are many different ways we can make space.

Sometimes it begins with something practical: putting down our phones, walking without headphones, leaving gaps in our diaries, reducing our commitments or establishing rhythms that are healthy and sustainable.

These things create physical space in our lives. They also create an opportunity for our bodies and minds to rest.

And in that space we can begin to embrace silence and stillness, step away from the constant flow of information, allow our thoughts to settle and become more aware of what is happening within us.

Then, from that place, we can turn our attention towards God through prayer, reading the Bible, worship, contemplation and community.

There isn’t one prescribed way of making space for God.

What matters is creating opportunities for our attention to turn towards Him and for our relationship with Him to grow.

And perhaps we need to remember something important here.

Making space isn't about creating a space where God isn't currently present and asking Him to come in. God is already present.

We make space so that we can notice Him.

We aren’t trying to create an empty life. We’re trying to create enough space within the life we already have to notice the One who is already there.

BUILDING MY LIFE AROUND GOD

Jesus didn’t invite people to add more spiritual activity to their existing lives. His invitation was much simpler and yet far more profound:

“Follow me.”

Those two words contain an extraordinary invitation.

To follow Jesus means being prepared to leave behind what we think we know, let go of some of the things we think we need and, at times, change direction. It means walking in His footsteps, learning from Him and allowing His way of living to shape ours.

To follow Jesus is to reorient our lives around Him.

Not just when it’s convenient.

Not just when we have the energy or the head-space.

Not simply as another part of our already busy lives.

But every moment of every day.

Because Jesus isn’t offering us another activity to fit into our lives. He is offering us life to the full.

And perhaps this is where all of this comes together.

Creating space leads to an increased awareness of God’s presence with us.

Awareness of His presence leads to a deeper intimacy with the Father.

That intimacy begins to transform our minds and hearts.

As our hearts are transformed, we begin to see the people and the world around us differently. We can grow in love, compassion and hope. We begin to see more clearly that God is at work, changing hearts and renewing His creation.

It is a process. We don’t arrive overnight.

We simply keep turning our attention back towards Him.

Again and again.

And perhaps that is why these points of reset are so valuable.

A new school year. A new year. Returning from holiday. A new season. A change in circumstances.

They give us an opportunity to pause and ask:

Am I becoming the person I want to become?

What do I need to change to become that person?

And perhaps, underneath both questions, there is another one:

“How can I build my day around God?”

Not simply finding more time for God.

Not squeezing Him into the gaps.

But allowing Him to become the centre around which everything else finds its place.

Perhaps that’s what it means to make space.