When You’ve Been Talking About God More Than Talking to God

This thought convicted me a little.

Actually…

a lot.

You can talk about Jesus every day and still realize you haven’t really sat down and talked to Jesus lately.

You can post Scripture.

Serve at church.

Encourage someone.

Listen to worship music.

Teach.

Write Christian content.

Talk about what God is doing.

Tell other people to pray.

And somehow, in the middle of doing so many things for God…

you can forget to simply be with Him.

And maybe I’m not the only one who needs that reminder.

Doing Things for Jesus Isn’t the Same as Being With Jesus

This is especially easy when you genuinely love serving God.

You want to help.

You want people to know Jesus.

You want to use your gifts for Him.

Those are beautiful desires.

But there’s a subtle danger here.

Ministry can become a substitute for intimacy if we’re not careful.

We can spend so much time pouring out that we stop allowing God to pour into us.

We can prepare something for everyone else from Scripture without ever asking:

“Lord, what are You saying to me?”

We can pray publicly and barely pray privately.

We can talk about how good Jesus is…

without sitting quietly long enough to enjoy Him ourselves.

Martha Wasn’t Doing Something Bad

There’s a story in Luke 10 that I keep coming back to.

Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary.

Martha is busy serving.

Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens.

Eventually Martha becomes frustrated because she’s doing all the work while Mary is sitting there.

And Jesus tells her:

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.”
— Luke 10:41–42

Here’s what gets me:

Martha wasn’t out doing something sinful.

She was serving Jesus.

She was doing something good.

But she became so consumed with serving Him that she missed the opportunity to sit with Him.

And whew.

I understand Martha.

Maybe you do too.

Sometimes Good Things Can Distract Us From the Best Thing

Church is good.

Serving is good.

Bible studies are good.

Christian books are good.

Christian podcasts are good.

Christian social media can be good.

Ministry is good.

But none of those things are Jesus Himself.

I can read ten books about God and still need to open His Word.

I can listen to someone else talk about prayer and still need to pray.

I can watch someone else’s testimony and still need to examine what God is doing in my own heart.

I can spend an hour creating something meant to point other people toward Jesus…

and still need to close the laptop and go sit with Him myself.

We cannot live forever on somebody else’s relationship with God.

Eventually, we have to sit at His feet ourselves.

Your Quiet Time Doesn’t Have to Become Another Performance

And before we accidentally turn this into another Christian checklist…

I’m not saying:

“You must spend exactly 47 minutes reading five chapters every morning at 5:00 a.m. or you’re failing Jesus.” 😂

No.

This isn’t about creating another rule.

It’s about relationship.

Think about someone you deeply love.

You don’t say:

“Great. I completed my required fifteen minutes of conversation with you today.”

You want to know them.

You talk.

You listen.

You spend time together.

Our relationship with God is obviously unique, but the point remains:

God doesn’t want to be another task on our schedule.

He wants our hearts.

Put the Phone Down for a Minute

This one is for me too. 😂

Sometimes the first thing we reach for when we have five quiet minutes is our phone.

Scroll.

Check notifications.

Answer messages.

Watch something.

Post something.

And suddenly the quiet moment is gone.

What would happen if occasionally we didn’t fill every silent space?

What if we sat there and said:

“Hi, Jesus. It’s just me.”

No audience.

No post afterward.

No photograph of the Bible.

No need to turn the moment into content.

Just you and God.

There is something sacred about having parts of your relationship with Jesus that nobody else gets to see.

Jesus Himself Withdrew

Luke 5:16 says:

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

That word often gets me.

Jesus had people everywhere who needed Him.

There were people to heal.

People to teach.

People asking questions.

Crowds waiting.

And yet…

He withdrew.

If Jesus intentionally made space for prayer while surrounded by enormous needs…

I probably shouldn’t convince myself I’m too busy for it.

Before You Pour Out, Let Him Fill You

If you’re encouraging people…

you need Jesus.

If you’re serving…

you need Jesus.

If you’re raising children…

you need Jesus.

If you’re leading ministry…

you need Jesus.

If you’re writing Christian content…

you need Jesus.

If you’re teaching Scripture…

you desperately need Jesus.

Not simply information about Him.

Not simply the ability to speak about Him.

Him.

Because eventually, pouring from an empty cup becomes exhausting.

And eventually, Christianity without intimacy becomes routine.

So Today, I’m Going Back to His Feet

Maybe this post isn’t asking you to do anything dramatic.

Maybe after you finish reading, you simply need ten quiet minutes.

Open your Bible.

Put your phone somewhere else.

Read slowly.

Pray honestly.

Don’t prepare anything.

Don’t think about how you’ll explain the verse to somebody else.

Don’t turn it into a post.

Let Scripture be for you for a moment.

And maybe say:

“Jesus, I’ve talked about You a lot lately.

But right now…

I just want to talk to You.”

And then stay there for a while.

Because making disciples matters.

Serving matters.

Teaching matters.

Encouraging people matters.

Sharing the Gospel matters.

But we cannot lead people toward a Jesus we have become too busy to sit with ourselves.

Before everything else…

I want to know Him.

Not just know how to talk about Him.

Not just know how to serve Him.

Not just know how to create things about Him.

I want to know Jesus.

And sometimes that means putting everything else down…

and going back to His feet. 💜

🪻 A Prayer

Jesus,

Forgive me for the times I’ve become so busy doing things for You that I’ve forgotten simply to be with You.

I don’t want my relationship with You to become a checklist, a ministry responsibility, or something I only talk about with other people.

I want to know You.

Personally.

Deeply.

Quietly.

Teach me to treasure the moments nobody else sees.

Help me open Your Word not only because I need something to teach or share, but because I need You.

When my life becomes noisy, draw me back.

When serving becomes busy, remind me why I serve.

And when I find myself talking about You more than I’m talking to You…

lead me back to Your feet.

Everything I pour out begins with You.

Amen. 💜

Reflection Question

This one deserves a little honesty:

Have you been spending more time lately doing things for God than actually being with God?

If the answer is yes, there’s no shame in it.

Maybe tonight you don’t need another sermon, podcast, devotional, or Christian post.

Maybe you just need Jesus. 💜