“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
– Joshua 1:8-9
It’s funny, you know, how The Lord has His way of calling you back to Him. Whether you’ve been gone years, or just a few days, it never ceases to amaze me. I haven’t posted the past two weeks because my beautiful husband took me on a long, much needed anniversary vacation. A Disney cruise and resort stay that left us utterly relaxed. Yet somehow, when I was in the process of relaxing my thoughts always came back to God. I’d left my Bible in error, and my phone version wouldn’t pull up without an internet connection – something we were both relieved and distressed to be missing. Nevertheless, when we came home, I felt pulled back to His Word. Something had been missing on our trip; not a lack of discussion about our Heavenly Father, or our trust in Him, but my daily quiet time. Something I’ve come to need badly.
It’s a good addiction to have, my friends. But I have to ask: how much time to we devote to His Word? How much time does the most important person in our lives, Jesus Christ, get? Doesn’t the Creator of Heaven and Earth deserve more than the hour I try to put in every day? Should I really be worried about the laundry or the dust bunnies that have once again returned no matter how many times I vacuum daily? Do my earthly responsibilities outweigh my heavenly ones?
I know the answer to that, and honestly, I’m still learning. It’s taken me years to figure out devoting my morning to my Bible reading and devotional time, and my evening to prayer and journaling. I fear when I have children I’ll have to learn all over again, even though I believe it will be a joy to do so.
This passage may have originally been The Lord’s commission to Joshua, but it speaks right to my heart. God knows that if I’m reading His Word daily, meditating and researching and lingering on each lesson then it will change my life. It will make sin uglier and Christ more beautiful day by day. It will make decisions that are difficult easier, because I know what I’m supposed to do. It will remind me to love first, not judge. Most importantly, it will remind me to “be strong and of good courage…not [to] be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (v.9)
Muse on Paper 