I fell behind.
Really behind, in my daily Bible Reading Plan. I set a goal to read through the Bible this year, and I was not happy that I let myself get into this situation.
The majority of my behind-ness started in September, during Hurricane Irma. We were out of town, too far away to do anything about the things left behind. Please, don’t miss the humor of this…I fell behind, worrying about stuff I left behind.
Yes, I find it humorous when God shows me the ludicrous results of my unfaithfulness.
My behind-ness continued as I tried desperately to catch up. At first I thought I could just double up my daily readings, but then we had to bring our boat back, and we had hurricane clean up to take care of. It wasn’t like I was sitting on the couch eating bonbons and reading romance novels. I was busy all day, from the moment my feet hit the floor, until I fell asleep, before my head settled into the pillow. (Yes, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!)
But here’s the thing, is it OK to be too busy for God?
I don’t think so. I mean, He isn’t too busy for me, how can I return His faithfulness with a list of excuses for being too busy? Surely I can set even a small amount of time aside each day to meet with Him.
By the end of October, it was starting to look hopeless, my doubling up wasn’t making the cut. I had a choice, skip to the current day and call it, or apply myself and catch this thing up. I didn’t make a vow to read through the Bible in 2017, but in my slackness, I didn’t want to miss anything or ruin the blessings from the discipline of reading every word the Lord had placed there.
Well, it certainly gave me several weeks of being Weary by Wednesday, but I laid out a plan on an index card. I was going to have to read 4-6 sections per day to be caught up by Thanksgiving…I kept my Bible on the kitchen table, and every time I thought about looking through social media…I read another section instead, until I reached the day’s goal.
I’m happy to say that I caught up last week. And you know what? Reading one section per day is excitingly awesome! Instead of rushing through, I have time to ponder, seek and investigate what I am reading. I am hearing from God more clearly, and can hardly wait until tomorrow when I can read the next section.
I guess what I’m trying to say in all this is, discipline is hard, but the rewards are worth it. And I’m not sharing this today for a pat on the back, but to challenge you, if you are behind in something, make a call. I’m not sure it would have mattered if I would have skipped to the current day and gotten myself back on the path sooner or not. For me though, I had to have a little consequence for my unfaithfulness.
So, I challenge you when you realize you’ve been slacking, and need to get back on track…do it…don’t give up and throw in the towel, or make excuses.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23
As always, thank you for sharing your Wednesday with me. I hope each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I am praying for you as we head into December, my prayer is you will make time each day with the Lord, no matter how busy your schedule.
Jennifer Baringer 