Daily Habits
Daily Habits
Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10
The daily-ness of life and the busy-ness of the world scream for our undivided attention. How do we cease striving, and know that He is God? We must choose what we will allow to fill our minds, hearts, days, and life; moment-by-moment. We must ask the Holy Spirit to grow within each of us a hunger to know God intimately. This hunger will grow, as we yield our wants and our “to do” lists to Him.
“Thy testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul observes them.
The unfolding of Thy words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth wide and panted,
For I longed for Thy commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
After Thy manner with those who love Thy name.
Establish my footsteps in Thy word,
And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.”
Psalm 119:129-133
People who are hungry usually find some way to eat…soon! Schedule time with God in His Word. Don’t expect to fit it into your day somewhere, because it will easily get pushed aside. Make time to put His Word first, and ask Him to help you. With little ones, begin by sharing a verse from memory before you eat breakfast. With teenagers, we began the habit of coming to the kitchen table to read our own quiet time chapters before breakfast. Yes, before. Knowing that reading God’s Word is a priority was not enough. Making it a priority helps us to realize that God’s Word is truly nourishment for our soul, as food is for our body.
We have days where we drag in, barely awake, and find ourselves an hour later discussing how Jesus’ teaching in John relates to what someone else was reading in Psalms. We also have days where it seems that what was read was unrelated to our day-to-day life. That’s ok: God will bring it to our remembrance when we need to understand those truths in a practical and personal sense. Being in the Word opens our minds to discuss it, and bring its truths into our day.
Of course, the inevitable inevitably happens. We miss a day here. We are exhausted and sleep late. We have company. We get off track…how do you get going again? You just do it. If babies gave up trying to walk after a fall or two, when would they learn to walk? God knows we are going to mess up, and He still loves us. What He wants to know is if we really love Him.
Let’s step back a minute and get the big picture in all of this. Down the road, what will really matter when all is said and done, and your children are on their own? What habits do you want to see in their homes? What values will be transplanted from your home to theirs? If knowing God is all that really matters in this life, how much of your life is invested in knowing Him through His Word? Realize that your family will catch their values from what you value. What you do speaks so loud that they won’t always hear what you say.
The rewards of putting God and His Word as the priority of your day are abundantly above what can be imagined. As a family, you will have a shared understanding of Bible truths and people. You will find that the feast of the morning will uniquely equip you to handle the ups and downs of that day. Shared time in prayer to worship and seek God’s counsel on our daily needs will develop a closeness with God and with each other. Answers to prayer strengthen the bond of hope and trust in Him. The eternal investment in getting to know God personally is beyond measure. So, the next time you are tempted to substitute time with God for anything else, don’t. He is waiting patiently to meet with you, and what He has to share is exactly what you will need that day!
What about God's Word in your home? What are some of the challenges? And what are some of the memories you share?
Photo by Glen Carrie via Unsplash