Get Me Through Today

Recently the most frequent counsel I have been giving people is something that I still feel a little surprised giving. It is simply this- stop being over ambitious with your quiet times. Believe me this is not a statement to designed to diminish the scriptures, it is more an acknowledgement that the sufficiency of scripture is found in not in the quantity consumed but by the qualities it brings to the reader. It is designed to see that scripture can sweep us into and through a day as we delight in it but all too often we are swamped by it as we drown in the volume we are trying to handle.

To be clear, I fully endorse the multiple approaches to God's Word that are reading, studying, meditating and memorising. All of these have a crucial place in the spiritual armoury of the Christian disciple. The reality is that much of scripture is lost on us because we are busy pursuing what is all too often a tick-box exercise where we read but are not made ready for the day. What I am advocating is reading less so as to revel in it more.

Scripture is clear- the Christian life is survival. This is the narrow, hard way. We are aliens and stranger in a foreign land. Our inheritance is waiting in Heaven for us. I would encourage you as you sit with your Bible open in the morning to pray one of two simple prayers:

'Father, I need your help'

or

'Father, give me something to get me through today.'

Then read looking for a verse or verses that will do one of two things.

Give you a bigger view of God. Nothing will ground your day better than starting it with a greater view of God. When the truth about God is big in your life everything else will seem small in comparison.

Give you a promise to grab hold of. When you start your day in the conviction that God is all He says He is and will do all He promises He will do that will change your day. Find a promise in what you are reading and write it down on a sticky-note for your lunch box or computer screen. How about you make it your goal to share that with someone that day. It could change their day too.

It's a different way to start your day- but don't leave it at that. Come back later and get the full benefit of studying, memorising and mdeitating. I suspect you might feel more like it after starting your day reading in a different way.