Time in the Word
Running from one thing to the next, our lives as women, employees, volunteers, wives, and mothers can be pretty non-stop from the time we get up until we fall into bed at night. How do we establish consistent, meaningful time in the Word and cultivate the relationship we say we hold most dear?
In times past I have struggled greatly with this, especially after having children. It seemed time always slipped away from me. When I did spend time reading my Bible, I would get frustrated because my mind would be distracted and I wouldn’t even know what to read. I would resort to reading the Proverb of the day or wherever the Bible opened. I walked around condemned because I was ministering to others, yet my own time with God was so dry and unfulfilling. I say all this in order to share with you what has changed for me and to show you how you too can revitalize your time with God. My husband read a book several months ago that transformed his walk with God. As he and I started applying simple truths to our lives, consistency and meaning has come back into our devotional times and it is no longer a struggle to spend time in the Word.
The first thing that helped me was starting with a Bible reading plan. It is beneficial to know a direction in which to go. Have you ever dreaded dinner time or cooking because you just didn’t know what you were going to make? In the same way, not knowing what to read can keep us from reading our Bibles. There are many reading plans out there that will work. I just started by reading through the New Testament. When I go to read the Word, I go with a pen and a journal. As I am reading, I look for God to show me a certain Scripture or a point that stands out to me. I focus on finding one thing that God wants to speak to me about. I then start in my journal by writing down that Scripture. I write down observations about the passage I am reading – what was going on when this was written? Under what circumstances was the writer writing? To whom was he writing? Next, I make this personal to me by writing down how I can apply this scripture to my own life. Finally, I conclude with writing out a prayer to God.
This all may seem overly simplistic to you, but it really helped jumpstart my expectancy for receiving from God. Sacrifice will get you started, but expectancy will keep you coming back. This is why keeping a journal is so important. When I read the Bible, I expect to hear God speak to me through His Word. I am going to walk away with something written down that I got out of my time with God. That is fulfilling! God is always speaking, but my expectancy opens my ears and eyes to what He is saying to me. God wants to be known by you. “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord…” Jeremiah 29:12-14a
Another thing that may be beneficial in creating this habit is linking it to a routine you already have. For my husband, the best time for him to spend time with God is after work before he comes home. For me, it is after the kids are in bed at night. After breakfast is when we linked our children’s time of praise and worship. Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.” These are all normal everyday activities. The best time for you may be when you wake up or when you are on your lunch break or when you sit down with your favorite cup of coffee. Starting the custom of having a daily devotion becomes easy and maintainable when it is connected to something you are already doing daily.
As busy as life can be, start the New Year prioritizing time in the Word. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Don’t allow the devil to deceive you into believing that setting aside time for God is going to deter you from accomplishing all of your other tasks. You will find that somehow everything else will get done. God will redeem your time. “Wait on the Lord, and He will renew your strength. You will mount up with wings as eagles. You will run and not grow weary. You will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Written by Amy Lambert, the wife of Jim Lambert and mother of three small children.