Short Honeymoons with Devotions

"I can read my Bible regularly for a couple weeks and then lose interest," a friend admitted. We can be all be enthused about being disciplined Bible readers, but there can be a short honeymoon with devotions. As Susan Muto observed, "The excitement of newness lasts for only a short while. It is then that we must apply the principle of 'stick-to-it-iveness.'"

God told the Israelites to make their sacrifices regularly before the Lord and then He promised, "I will meet you and speak to you" (Ex. 29:42). If their sacrifices had been hit or miss, they would have missed out on the part that made it all worthwhile. God would reward their consistency by speaking to them. It is in meeting Him regularly that we learn to hear His voice.

Once we begin to allow our daily time with God to slip away, we begin to miss it less and less. In an old journal I found this entry: "I awoke and realized that because I had not been reading [the Bible] consistently my delight and excitement with God's Word wasn't as intense. This worried me." Our desire for the Word diminishes with neglect.

The result is that when a crisis comes we discover we have little strength. We lack a vision of a God who is in control and "sits enthroned over the flood" (Ps. 29:10). Rather than seeing the Lord ruling the uncontrollable flood of problems in our lives, we simply see the flood and are overwhelmed. It is those who hold tightly to their time with God who can confidently and calmly say "all things serve you" (Ps. 119:91).

Thank you, Jesus, for every desire to come to You, the Living Word.

"Happy are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates" (Proverbs 8:34 NLT).