A couple of weeks ago I posted about giving up technology for a month. Here I am now with a two part series, ready to share with you what I learned! Before you read this, make sure to check out “The Story of How I Ended Up With No Technology.”
THE RELATIONAL ASPECT.
If you didn’t know this already, I packed all of my belongings for six months into a 55 liter pack, which left no room for books. Luckily, I live in the 21st century where online books are a thing, so I downloaded my devotional (New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp) onto my laptop/phone. When I originally gave up my phone, this wasn’t an issue because I still had my laptop. But when my laptop broke a few days after committing to having no phone for the month, one of the first things to cross my mind was that I no longer had my devotional. I no longer had my safety net of knowledge. I remember standing on the balcony talking about how I had no technology (and kind of panicking.) I turned to my team leader; Sam, and said “How am I supposed to have quiet time without my devotional?!” He gave me a confused look and said, “Just read your Bible…” “‘Read my Bible?’ How the heck do I just read my Bible?” is the exact thought that flowed through my mind.
To be 100% honest, the month of not having technology was the first time in my life that I was consistently spending more than 10 minutes a day actually in the Word. My faith is and always has been completely my own, meaning that I didn’t grow up with parents pushing me towards Jesus. I am learning to see this as a huge blessing, but it also means that I missed out on learning things like how to read my Bible. I think I used this as an excuse to justify me not being in the Word for a really long time. I was so insecure about my lack of knowledge that it hindered me from recognizing that I know the Bible, as well as the Holy Spirit well enough to lead myself in seeking the knowledge that I not only want, but need. I have spent the majority of my walk with Jesus being reliant on my devotional to feed me, and carried that dependency and insecurity with me for the first month of the race.
So there I was with no technology, being forced to actually sit and read my Bible. What a hard life, right? Here’s where the relational aspect comes into play. All insecurities aside, I truly do lack knowledge of the Bible, which can lead to me lacking knowledge in the fundamental essence of who Jesus really is. The month I had of just sitting and reading what had always been right at my finger tips grew my relationship with Jesus drastically. I was forced to throw out my excuses and insecurities and actually sit and get to know Jesus. I learned how to read my Bible, and how to become dependent on the Holy Spirit to guide me on my walk with Jesus instead of being dependent on the knowledge of other people. It’s almost funny that I’m turning nineteen years old next week and am just now learning how to actually walk with Jesus. But instead of being insecure and at some points too prideful to admit what I’m lacking, I’m learning to seek the Lords wisdom.
I honestly didn’t think that I would learn so much just from giving up technology for a bit. In my brain, it was just a fun detox. The Lord had so much more in store for me to learn that month, and I’m still seeing the fruits from just saying “yes” to what He was asking me to do!
