ANCHORED IN GOD’S WORD
Teach me Your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey Your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of Your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for Your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through Your Word. Reassure me of Your promise, made to those who fear You. Help me abandon my shameful ways; for Your regulations are good. I long to obey Your commandments! Renew my life with Your goodness.
Psalm 119:33-40 (NLT)
Do you desire to spend time in God’s Word?
Before you give the Sunday school answer of yes, of course, really think about it. Do you get excited to dive into the Scriptures, expectant that God will illuminate through the power of His Spirit? Or do you view time in your Bible as a chore? Something you have to do versus something you get to do? The problem with viewing studying the Scriptures as another item on your spiritual checklist is that you can grow dispassionate and disinterested in hearing from Almighty God.
Stop and consider the magnitude of what we have in the Bible. The Creator of the universe has revealed Himself to us. We find stories that reveal the enduring goodness and faithfulness of God. We have wisdom and guidance for navigating the potential pitfalls that we all encounter in our day-to-day lives. We have a prophetic glimpse of what is to come. We find the words and doings of Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
The psalmist in our above passage asks God to give him an eagerness for God’s Word over the love of money. Can we honestly say we’d rather spend time studying Scripture rather than receiving monetary compensation? He goes on to speak of turning his eyes from worthless things and finding life in the Word. I’m sure it’s just me, but my eyes behold a ton of worthless things regularly. My doom-scrolling and addiction to entertainment on screens in the grand scheme of eternity is worthless. And it’s time I could be spending in the Word. I’m not saying we should spend every waking moment reading the Bible. But I’m sure you would agree that there’s room for us to increase our time in the Word.
APPLICATION: Ask God to grow within you a love for His Word. Pick a reading plan, whether that’s a deep dive into a book, working your way through the Gospels, or doing some type of thematic Old Testament study. Whatever works for you—just take a step!
PRAYER: Father, Your Word is life. Would You grow within me a desire to see how You’ve communicated Your love? Help me to fall more and more in love with You as I study the Scriptures. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?