My friend Sarah sent me an email yesterday that stayed with me. She passed along some insight from a book she has been reading and it truly convicted me. I have struggled to spend time with Christ daily, for well, my entire life. Like most believers I go through spells where I am hungry for His Word and read it faithfully, other times where I am lackadaiscal in my spritual pursuits, and other times where I downright refuse. Mostly, though, I think it's always that limbo of finding time and keeping the committment to do it (the ultimate duel between duty and desire). For the last three years more specifically I have probably read some of the least in my life and rather sought the freedom that comes in "worship as a lifestyle." There is great truth in this statement and I believe Bibically there is great support: our spiritual life is not a list of do's and don'ts. We should be able to enjoy so many avenues of life that God has given us and worship *Him* in those moments: time with friends and family, being outdoors in His marvelous creation, and spending time doing things we love, be it cooking, playing music, writing, reading, painting, etc. Yet, we also need to be spending time reading His Word and praying. Perhaps you can relate?
So, back to my friend Sarah. She sent this excerpt to me:
"We are blessed if we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it daily. Is your delight in God's Word? Do you read the Bible daily? That means every day without fail. Each of us should say to ourselves, "No Bible, no breakfast. No read, no feed." Be like Job, who "treasured the words of his mouth more than [his] necessary food" (Job 23:12, emphasis added). The key is to put your Bible before your belly - to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." (p. 37)."
May it begin anew for me today.
i'm realizing that meeting with God is something i *need*, being human. i'm finally seeing that my heart is so prone to wander from truth. & time in His word feeds my spirit, not my flesh. but it's not something that i need to do to be justified...it's just sanctifying. this probably sounds so simple, but it's been big for me in the past few years. i'm not seeing it as duty, as i used to. it's more of a delight, b/c i see that truth really is freeing and something i need reminded of over & over...i can get so easily moved by my emotions. xoxo
ReplyDeleteAs you might suspect, I can "relate" to everything you've said up until the "...you need to spend time reading his word and praying.." part; which is of course, probably consistent with my religious views. On the other hand, this is spoken by someone who just experienced what may well be considered some very spiritual moments visiting both the Salisbury and Canterbury cathedrals - go figure!?
ReplyDeleteso i remember being at Mission Hills one time w/ abs and whoever was teaching the youth sunday school (or whatever it was called:) said this exact same thing (bible before breakfast, etc). It has stuck w/ me ever since. I have been dealing with this my whole life. What was the name of this book? did i miss it?
ReplyDeleteI've been mulling over this post for a while and while I know that the over-arching theme of what you are saying is in regards to the need for us to spend consistent time with God and how that should be as important to us as anything else we do, I have to offer a counter point.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't my "excuse" to be lazy, I assure you, but I also am learning to find freedom that as a mom, I don't have the time I used to and that I can be free from expectations that I have to have a QT daily. For me at this stage, it's all about how do I find balance? I suppose that some would argue that if all else is out of whack, but you were consistent in spiritual arenas, all would be well, but I'm not surr I buy that and I don't think God would find honor in us neglecting parts of ourselves. But it's tough because, for example, I'm going to work out 3x a week at 6am and then I planned on having a short QT before Elise got up at 7:30, well now she's always awake when I get back at 7, so what do I do? Quit working out? Get up earlier? Neither of those seem like good options. I suppose squeeze in another time, or like today, read a Proverb aloud to Elise while she eats. IT's not great, but it's something. My dad showed me this page in a book by John Ortberg and I think it's good. "To her, reading the Bible and praying were the only two activities that counted spiritually. As a mother she felt like "time alone" was an oxymoron. In this the church had failed her. She had never been taught to see that caring for 2 young children, offered daily with expressions of gratitude and prayers for help and patient acceptance of trials, might also become a kind of school for transformation into powerful servanthood beyond anything she had ever known. Somehow having a "quiet time" counted toward spiritual devotion, and caring for two children did not."
SO SORRY this was long, but I thought good points for all reading to ponder.
Tines, thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad to hear that you are moving through life, seeking God in delight and not duty. What a challenge this can be some days! But, like you, I realize that I do need to be in His Word for my sanctification.
ReplyDeletePops, being in all the old haunts of Europe can do that to a person. What spiritual insights did you gain?
Mel, it's called "How to Bring Your Children to Christ and Keep Them There" by Ray Comfort.
La, you are very right that it's all about balance and not neglecting ourselves as a whole. Good for you for reading Proverbs to E during breakfast; that is worhsip! The Ortberg quote was right on; loved it. Somehow the church had missed telling her that by during her motherly duties, she was not "worshipping" God and this is just not so. And like you said, just because we are doing all the good and right spritual aspects of life, doesn't mean that all will be in sync. I am by no means saying that our "Bible devotions" are the trump card of spirituality (which is what I feel like the church teaches), rather quite the opposite. I'm saying that all my life I've been taught that you HAVE to be in the Word every day and while I think there is great truth in this (and you can argue for time spent as a necessity in scripture from scripture), I believe that there is indeed FREEDOM in Christ. We can worship Christ in all avenues of life and not just while reading His word. Yet, I recognize that I have used this as an excuse to NOT read His Word consistently over the past several years and I believe this is currently affecting my intimacy with Christ because His Word is the source of life, wisdom, and truth. Bottom line: I am trying to find a balance in time spent in and out of the Word. As Randall once posted on your blog, "Feel His pleasure when you run" (in the words of Eric Liddell). I felt like I took that truth to heart over the last few years and now I'm coming back to the place where I want to be in the Word more consistently. While the quote I posted actually grates on me a bit (it's a little too "Christian-eze" for my taste), I recognize what the author is saying: we need to read our Bibles.