You know you should, but you don’t, do you? I mean, who has the time? We’ve got work, there’s that meeting, dinner to make, reports to write, kids to attend to, and heaven forbid we miss this week’s episode of This is Us!
So there it lays. How long has it been? A few days, weeks, months? I pray not years. But it was for me. Back in my early days of committing my life to Christ, I was a busy wife and mother with a full-time job. I traveled for work, I traveled for my kid’s sports. We visited the family regularly; and I tried to carry my weight by volunteering at church. Yes, we made it to church most Sundays, but I’m pretty sure that there were times when months and possibly a year or two went by when I neglected my Bible.
I got the scripture readings at church each week. Isn’t that enough? I thought it should be, but was it really? I can still feel the release of stress as I’d sit there and sense the calm of being in God’s house each Sunday morning. But it would start to build again Sunday evening as I’d begin contemplating what was coming for the next week. By midweek all the peace I’d gained Sunday morning had worn off.
Along the way, I began reading a daily devotion and it helped keep me to be grounded. At least a little. Sadly, I wasn’t yet incorporating scripture readings with that practice and I was left wanting for more. I now realize that I was missing a huge opportunity by telling myself that I didn’t have time for more unless I was really struggling with a relationship problem or the illness or death of a loved one.
I was so busy trying to prove my worth in the world that I didn’t turn to the one thing that would have shown me that I was born with my true worth. But that’s how we are. We wander through life trying to do things for ourselves that God wants to do for us. We seek our worth in our jobs, our roles in the family and the church. We look under every rock for our purpose except the one laying on our nightstand or coffee table. We believe that if we just accomplish that next deadline, that promotion, or that sales goal, life will be good and we will prove our significance. But it never pans out the way we think it should. We continue to be haunted by knowing that there should be more.
It wasn’t until years later as I slowly built my resolve to spend more time in the Word that I began to realize that I was focused on the wrong goal. Instead of trying to focus on learning more and being better, I should have focused on growing in the knowledge of God by concentrating on my relationship with God. Instead of focusing on myself, my time would have been better served by putting my hope in Christ and acting on the guidance I’d received through the lessons I’d learned from scripture.
We can get so wrapped up in trying to live a perfect Christian life that we can easily get discouraged. We can begin to feel that there is no way we can ever please God with our lives because we keep falling short, but in Philippians 3, Paul talks about how we don’t need to be perfect in the sense that we are flawless in every detail. Rather, we can rest in knowing that Christ will reveal any areas that we are in need of improvement. Instead of thinking we need to wait until we learn more, we are called to take action and live out what we already know. We don’t have to be on a never-ending search for truth but instead can keep coming back to what God’s direction is for us and taking the next step.
I’ve mentioned in past episodes that we are to use our past as building blocks to point us to our future. No experience in life is wasted. I like to think it is there to help us see more clearly what we should or should not do next. God places our desires on our hearts and encourages us to step into those desires using the talents and skills He has given us. I recently had a conversation with someone that was so inspired by God and had so much passion and energy to really make a difference, but instead of taking action on things they already had and knew, they were choosing to wait for a sign from God as to what they should do next.
I believe that God gives us direction in his Word, in the people He brings into our lives, and the thoughts we have when we clear out the noise enough to listen to Him. Unfortunately, we are often limited by our own belief in ourselves or by fear of taking action. When that happens, we get stuck in confusion. However, waiting for a sign is not the answer. In fact, scripture is clear on that issue. If you read Matthew 4 where the Devil was tempting Jesus, Jesus clearly said, “Do not test the Lord your God.” God wants us to trust Him and to take action in faith. He isn’t going to jump through hoops to show us what He’s already laid the groundwork for us to do.
What I find fascinating is that the Devil was actually using Scripture to try to convince Jesus to sin. We will find this to be true today too. People will use whatever means are available to them to convince us to do something wrong. But if we are in the Word and become familiar with the principals that God wants us to live by, we will be able to see when someone is twisting the Word for their purposes to make it say what they want it to say.
Some will tell you that the Bible is outdated and that it doesn’t apply to the world today. Others will tell you that it was written by man and is simply a collection of stories, fables, myths, or human ideas about God. Those are lies the world wants you to believe to keep you from the Truth. In 2 Timothy 4 vs 16-17, it says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” If you study how the Bible came to be, you will find that God inspired each person who wrote every word in the Bible. He then orchestrated how different pieces were found in different places at different times, and yet they all fit together perfectly. He and He alone was in control of its writing and the teachings within it. I am blown away by the fact that it all still very much applies today and we are wise to use it in context as guidance for our conduct in all situations.
In all situations means at home, in our community, in the workplace, at church, everywhere. There is a place for every lesson in scripture in our lives at some point or another. If we take the time, no make the time, to immerse ourselves in the Word, we will find the answers we seek to the challenges we meet.
We are called to read it regularly so that we can discover God’s truth for our lives and so that we can gain the confidence we need to live our lives in faith. Truly, we are challenged to trust God and to develop a plan for reading the whole Bible so that we can be prepared when the Devil tries to take words out of context to lead us astray. So with that in mind, what change can you make in your schedule to ensure that you read God’s Word most, if not all days, this week? What can you do to make sure you make it happen?
Believe me, I know it sounds so easy to do, but know that if it is easy to do, it is also easy not to do. So put it on your calendar. Schedule an event on your phone. Do whatever you need to do to remind you to take action, and then simply do it. You are not going to stop being busy, but you will never regret getting into the habit of checking in with God before you start your day. You are never too busy for that!
The whole basis of this podcast is to remind you that reading scripture will revive your soul. I hope you will give it a try. I would love to know how it goes for you and I’d love to know how it changes your life. Leave a comment on Facebook, send me a Direct Message, or leave a comment on iTunes and let me know the impact it has on your life.
If you were inspired by this message and know someone you think would benefit from hearing this, please share it with them. It literally could change their life for the better. If you are haunted by knowing that you were created for more and are ready to step into the life your soul is longing for, let’s talk. You can find me at vonajohnson.com.
As we near the end of the series, 7 Mistakes Christians Make at Work, I hope you have enjoyed the discussion on how important it is to live out our Faith at Work. It began in episode #38 titled, Settle Down and Get to Work, and will end next week talking about encouraging others. If you haven’t already, I hope you will listen to each one. I also hope you downloaded your free poster to help you remember to incorporate the ideas into your day.
If you heard concepts you’d like me to discuss more or if you have ideas of other things you’d like me to cover in the show, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for stopping by today. It means so much that you use your valuable time to revive your soul with me, So go, get in the Word, and be blessed to be a blessing to others.
