Spending time with the Lord is facing a real threat of
potential extinction. The demands of modern life seem to be incompatible with
taking time out to spend with an invisible God. It is as though we should
reconsider if prayer and meditation still belong to this age or they should be
left alone with the less busy generations past.
In fact, Pharaoh called the
attitude of seeking God laziness in Exodus 5:17:
You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and
sacrifice to the LORD’ (Exodus 5:17 ESV).
Before moving any further, there are two very subtle lies we
must reject from the outset. The first
is that life is too busy today for God. It is true that the pace of
life has increased a thousand times since Jesus’ day. Even contemporary
teenagers have more crammed into a day than an entire combined household of
their ancient counterparts! However, life is never too busy for God, who is life
in the first place. The second is the common misconception that it is normal for
the Christian life to have “highs and lows." Though this has been the experience
of the majority of Christians, it is not what God has designed for us.
The
scripture says about those who are pay attention to the Word :
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in
its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers
(Psalm 1:3 ESV)
A tree by the river never experiences dryness. Its leaves
are fresh, and its fruit abundant, everyday of the year. This is the divine
picture of your life-whether this is your experience now is a different
question. The reason why the devotional life is crucial is because it seeks to
put us in a place where we live like a tree planted by the rivers of living
waters, always green and fruitful.
Why is the daily devotional time under threat?
But why is the daily devotional time facing the threat of
extinction? While we often cite a lack of time, this is a lie I pray will be
excavated from our minds before the end of this lesson. Though our time today
is certainly under pressure, contrary to what many Christians believe, it is
not the main reason why many of us find it so difficult to establish a solid daily
devotional life. Here are five underlying causes of the lack of time available
for God.
1) Priority mismatch
Our perceived
priories are the most powerful personal factors dictating how you allocate your
time. Our priorities are driven by our perception of need.
We place more value in the activities we believe are most
necessary to meet our needs or ideals of success, whether our perception is accurate or not. Many of us sincerely do not understand why a
consistent devotional time with God is critical in our lives.
2) Misperceived need
An even bigger problem is our perceived need for God and His
Word. Sadly, many of us still see God’s Word simply as a "instruction manual", rather than the source of our life. As a result, our
perceived need for God’s Word is blurred by an inadequate appreciation and
understanding of the role God's Word plays in our lives.
3) The wisdom problem
The wisdom problem is closely related to our mismatched
priorities and misperceived need. We need divine wisdom to discern our most
important needs and set our priorities right. If we truly grasp the
impact of our relationship with God on every area of life, we will give God's Word the true attention it deserves.
4) God’s work dilemma
This casualty of ministry might surprise you. Over-extending
ourselves in God’s work erodes and destroys ministers’ time of intimacy with
the Lord. As God’s precious children, we must never think that God called us primarily
to work for Him. Our relationship with Him must have priority over the work He
has commissioned us to do.
Enemies of the
daily devotional life
While there are many enemies of our time, I will mention just three of them:
1) Distractions
Distractions are anything that come in our way to interfere
with the time we set aside to spend with the Lord. The work God has commanded
us to do can even be a distraction! The classic story of Mary and Martha below
explains this beautifully without further comments.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And
a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called
Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was
distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you
not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.
“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about
many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion,
which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42 ESV)
2) The religious spirit
This silent destroyer occurs when we engage in the form of
religion without the substance. The religious spirit focuses on the practice
rather than the purpose of the practice. We might even begin to measure our
performance based on how consistent we are in our time with God. The mindset of
the religious spirit kills the quality of our time spent with the Lord.
3) Being a crisis Christian
Those of us with this attitude only seek God when there is a
crisis. For us, God is a "problem solver", so we only come to Him when we need answers. This is a heightened risk for believers with a misperceived need
for God, as explained earlier. Christ is more than your problem-solver; He is our very life (Colossians 3:4).
Why bother about your daily devotional life?
Many of us ask this very reasonable question. Our
relationship with the Lord has a huge, practical impact on all areas of our
life. If something does not solve an emotional pain, financial crises, health
turmoil or relationship unrest or similar day to day issues we face, they matter less to us.
The Flourishing
life
Life, both spiritual and physical, is like a tree. The
leaves indicate the overall well-being of our body, soul, and spirit. The
fruits are virtues like love, joy, peace, and righteousness, all
characteristics both God and man desires. A tree planted by a river will never
run dry, even when the sun is high above in the sky. The secret to its
fruitfulness is not the tree, but it’s proximity to the river. Simply stated, to flourish in life, plant our self by the
living waters of God. This is where our daily devotional life comes in. It
opens the flood gates for the Holy Spirit to nourish our relationship with
Christ.
Devotionals bring us to the water of life, to abide in Christ every day. For many believers, their mindset and routine has planted them in a dry place far away from "the River", and they wonder why their leaves are drying up and they struggle to produce fruit.
Devotionals bring us to the water of life, to abide in Christ every day. For many believers, their mindset and routine has planted them in a dry place far away from "the River", and they wonder why their leaves are drying up and they struggle to produce fruit.
So why should we care? Our fruitfulness in life will
depend squarely on where our practical, daily habits plant us.
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