Science magazine reports on the results of several studies:
In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more, and that many preferred to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts. Most people seem to prefer to be doing something rather than nothing, even if that something is negative.
What is it about our own thoughts that could be so offensive? We’ve built up so many distractions in our lives… is it a coping strategy to deal with our inability to handle the reality of who we (really) are and where our lives are heading?
God placed his Spirit in mankind when He created us. He mentions that he has limited our lives to 120 years because He wanted a limit on how long his Spirit would contend with us. One definition for “contend” is: to strive in rivalry; compete
It’s not right that God should have to compete for our love. It’s like asking how long you would tolerate living with a wife or husband who cheated on you.
So when we’re left alone with our thoughts, perhaps these are the moments when God’s Spirit begins to speak to us. When Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, it was for that reason – to grow closer to God and establish his life direction.
I wonder what would happen if we bravely took time to talk with God for a period of time, to find out what we should do with our life?