Nancy Leigh DeMoss - The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings

2012 by
N ANCY L EIGH D E M OSS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Emphasis in Scripture is the authors.

Content in this book has been edited and adapted from the writing and teaching ministry of Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh.
The quiet place / Nancy Leigh DeMoss with Lawrence Kimbrough.
p. cm.
Includes indexes.
Soft Touch ISBN 978-0-8024-0506-7 / International ISBN: 978-0-8024-5846-9
1. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BV4811.D45 2012
242.2--dc23

2012006260

Interior Design: Julia Ryan / www.DesignByJulia.com
Cover Design and Illustration: Maralynn Rochat

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In grateful memory of my father, Arthur S. DeMoss (19251979), whose example of wholehearted devotion to Christ and His kingdom was the greatest legacy a father could leave a daughter.

His practice of beginning each day with the Lord, in the Word and on his knees, made a profound and enduring mark on my life. This collection is the fruit of his life, and his fingerprints are unmistakable throughout.

As you meet Christ each day in a quiet place, may your life bear the imprint of His likeness. And may the example of our devotion inspire those who follow behind us to seek Him with their whole heart.

I TS NOT EASY TO FIND A QUIET PLACE THESE DAYS. Every parent with little ones (or teens or grandkids) knows what Im talking about. So do students. And those working in the marketplace. And anyone who shops at retail outlets or eats out in restaurants. (Id like a nickel for every time Ive asked a server: Any chance you could turn down the music a bit so we can talk?) For that matter, it can be hard to find a quiet place in our own homeseven for those of us who live alone.

From environmental clatter over which we have no control, to clamor of our own making and choosing, we are subjected (or subject ourselves) to phones chirping and buzzing, pagers beeping, email reminders chiming, music blaring, appliances ding-donging, Skype whoosh-ing, people chattering, horns honking, video games, well, what noise dont they make?!even white noise masking other noises in many of our workplaces. And beyond all that, theres the inner racket that often reverberates in our heads and heartsperhaps the hardest realm of all to find a quiet place.

Truth be told, in many cases, we find it difficult to live without our noise. Certainly one of the curses of our age is that we cant bear to be alone, to be still, to be quiet.

I am currently in my fiftieth year of walking with the Lord. One of the greatest delights of those years has been the joy of communing with Him, hearing Him speak through His Word, by His Spirit. At the same time, one of my greatest, perennial struggles has been the temptation to let other sounds and voices crowd out His voice not getting still enough, long enough, to hear His voice; trying in vain to cultivate intimacy with the Savior while on the run and in the midst of incessant hullabaloo and activity.

Far too often, far too many of usmyself includedopt for checking Facebook over meditating on His Book, playing Words with Friends over savoring the Word of our dearest Friend.

Even with an endless array of games, toys, and electronic gadgets, we are easily bored. Given a momentary lull in the action, we cant resist picking up our smartphones; texting, IMing, or calling a friend; checking email, blogs, Facebook, or Twitter; playing computer games, listening to music, turning on the TV, watching YouTube clips, or clicking on news, weather, and sports apps.

And heres whats so sad: Despite the proliferation of devices to fill the empty spaces of our lives and hearts, pervasive poverty of soul is epidemic, even among those of us who claim to be followers of the Prince of Peace.

Over the years, the devotional writings of the likes of our Puritan forebears (The Valley of Vision), Charles Spurgeon (Chequebook of the Bank of Faith, Morning by Morning, Evening by Evening), Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest), Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (Streams in the Desert), Elisabeth Elliot, and John Piper, along with numerous lesser known authors, have served to help collect my distracted heart and to whet my appetite for Christ and His Word.

It is my hope that this volume will help you cultivate a quiet heart and find fresh springs of blessing in the presence of the Lord.

I would hasten to remind you that, however useful such a resource may be, it can in no way substitute for getting into the Word itself. Think of this book, or any other devotional book, as merely an appetizer, a pre-taste of the meal to come. These readings are not intended to supplant your need for Gods Word, but simply to create hunger, stimulate your appetite, and tune your senses and heart to long for more of Him. One sure way to be spiritually scrawny is to attempt to subsist on short devotional readings that were intended only to send you to His Book for the real meal.

In order to get the most out of these readingsand more importantly, the main course of Scripture reading and meditationlook for a quiet place, away from unnecessary distractions. Your quiet place may be indoors or out; it may be lovely or plain, perhaps nothing more than a small closet. When you get to that place, hard as it might be, impossible as it may seem, I would encourage you to turn off your electronic devicesbetter yet, leave them in another room! Ask God to give you a quiet heart; pray with the psalmist: