Day and Night
“2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 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”
It has taken me many years to figure out a consistent Bible reading routine. From what I’m reading, to the level of commitment I’ve had, to learning to make it a priority as my life has been busy (time management!). My quiet devotional time has never looked exactly the same throughout the various seasons in my life.
I’ve never been a morning person, so I used to have my quiet time at night. But after I had kids, I was too tired to focus and it was getting hard to keep doing it at night. There were countless times I fell asleep while I was saying my prayers. I’ve tried waking up early, but my kids get up at 6, and I am not a morning person to get up any earlier, let alone to concentrate on anything I’m reading. During the school year when I work, it’s hard to find a few moments to fit in reading the Bible between getting myself and the kids ready. I’ve tried just reading a short devotional in the morning when I get to work. I’ve listened to podcasts or praise and worship music on my way to work in an effort to start my day in His word.
In addition to trying to find the right time of day, how much time I spend has varied over the years. I’ve had some seasons where I could carve out an hour each day to focus, to go in depth, to complete a Bible study thoroughly. In the busier seasons of life, it seems like finding even 5 minutes is a challenge. And I’ve even had a few seasons where I didn’t pick up my Bible for months.
And even in seasons where I’ve prioritized the time, there has always been the challenge of focus. I’ve had seasons where I can’t even read an entire verse without getting interrupted by my kids let alone read an entire passage. I’ve tried to have “quiet” time while my kids are playing, yelling, squealing, around the room. I’ve had seasons where distractions, such as phone calls and social media, take away from my attention. Some times I was interested from a study aspect, but I cannot say how engaged my heart was. Or my focus was on the wrong thing...like how pretty my notes need to look in my journal. And if I were honest, there have been times that my focus wasn’t there at all. I was going through the motions, just checking off the box.
Being in God’s word shouldn’t be this complicated, should it?
Psalm 1:2 says “he delights in God’s word and meditates on it day and night.” That “meditate day and night” indicates to me a lifestyle which tells me that His word is a part of our whole day, no matter what life circumstances we have going on.
I don’t think me having a good consistent Bible reading routine makes me a good Christian. I also don’t think the seasons where I’m struggling to be in the word make me a bad Christian. The last thing we need to do is turn Bible reading into a legalistic routine. Reading our Bible, in and of itself, does not makes us “good Christians.” Allowing His word to pierce our hearts and transform us (Hebrews 4:12) is how we become more Christ-like. I do know that the seasons where I have not been in His word are seasons of little growth in my life. Conversely, when I have consistently meditated on Scripture, I have learned more about who God is and deepened my relationship with Him, which resulted in a change in me.
Reading God’s word should always be a priority, but how that actually looks, how it looks practically, in your life is going to vary from season to season. I think it is natural that we will have some seasons where we can take the time to do a Bible study: to sit down and dig deep into God’s word. I think God knows that in other seasons of our life (like the beginning stages of motherhood), just reading one verse a day is about all we can manage. It is what we do with those truths throughout our day that truly matters. Synonyms for the word meditate include ponder, muse, ruminate, study, think. God wants us to write His words on our hearts and ponder them day and night. We take those truths that we read and recall them throughout our day, think about them, turn them over in our heads. Our entire day, not just the moments we pause to read, is meant to be delighting in His word.
I want to encourage you to take the time to read His word everyday. If all you can manage is one verse, that is enough. But don’t just read it and move on with your day. Write the verse on your heart (and maybe on an index card) and meditate on it throughout the day. If you are in a season where you are struggling to find the motivation, where it feels like you are doing it just to check off a box, pray that God will change your heart. But go to His word anyway. Don’t wait for the “feeling” to be there. It is in His word that your heart will be softened toward Him.
God is so gracious that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Psalm 1:2-3 includes a promise that says the one who delights in God’s word is like a tree planted, bearing fruit, not withering, always prospering. I don’t know about you, but I want a fruitful and prosperous life—the kind of life that can only be found in Jesus.
