Sunday Sentiments

I had a conversation a few days ago with one of my friends...about daily devotions. She confessed to me that they sometimes feel like a chore to her and she felt bad saying that.

I told her I understood both the way she felt...and the way she felt about the way she felt. I'd been there in different seasons of my life. 

My parents raised me on family devotions every night before bed. I tended to throw a fit when it was time for them, not so much because I didn't like devotions, but because the arrival of devotions signaled the end of the day and bedtime around the corner. I fought bedtime then as hard as I fight it now. 

But I remember when I turned eleven and decided to take my faith seriously. I started by taking personal devotions seriously. I set aside a solid thirty minutes every night before bed to read the Bible, journal, and pray. It clicked for me, and I loved it. All the way through junior high, high school, college, and beyond, I was insistent about that half hour. Even my college roommates knew that was a big deal to me and I preferred to be left alone when arranged on my bunk with all my devo supplies.

But even though I'm great at keeping an appointment, there have certainly been seasons where my heart hasn't been as invested, and that always makes me feel terribly sad inside. 

This week I read a list of verses about what my response to Scripture should be, and the words I read in the Word challenged my heart:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. - Joshua 1:8

I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. - Job 23:12

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. - Psalm 119:103

I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. - Psalm 119:131

I underlined the words in my Bible and asked God for a fresh hunger and desire to spend time at length studying, learning, and ingesting. 

There are so many loud noises clamoring for my attention. The noises clamoring for yours may be different, but they exist, just the same. But to sit before the Lord and stay in His presence is the desire of my heart.