Charles Spurgeon, the English preacher, once issued this great challenge concerning daily devotionals:
“Never come face-to-face with man until you have come face-to-face with God,” and “Give God the cream of the day.”
For many years, in my walk with Christ, I struggled with having consistent “Quiet Times” or daily devotionals. I understood that this was the way to be a “good" Christian. This was something I should do. I started by trying to read the Bible on a daily basis using different methods. I tried reading the entire Bible from beginning to end straight through, non-stop, for as long as it took, I also tried different plans of reading the whole Bible in one year. I also had daily devotional pamphlets that I would theoretically use. Oh, and prayer times, that is another issue. I made up charts and lists. Whom would I pray for on what day? There are all kinds of ways to “organize” your prayer life so that your prayers would be “effective.” (L.O.L. belongs here!) You read things like Martin Luther, who said something to the effect that when he had a busy day ahead, he would rise three hours earlier to pray. Boy, after reading that from a spiritual giant, I felt like a spiritual midget!
Usually, after a couple of months of trying to be spiritually disciplined, I would “flame out.” I would become discouraged and feel that I wasn’t doing what “good” Christians do. I had tried my hardest to have a life of spiritual discipline.
Several things changed the way I approached my devotional life.
The Christian author and speaker, Brennan Manning, spoke at several Staff Conferences for Young Life. His major theme in most of his talks was “Grace.” His book, “The Ragamuffin Gospel” had a profound impact on me. In it, he writes, “He (God) loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain of your life.” In addition, in another place, he relates a visit to the Mother Superior of a convent. On the wall behind her desk, hung a banner with the inscription, “Today, I will not should on myself.” Over time I came to realize that I was trying to win God’s approval, me being an approval addict, by performing for Him, by doing what I “should” “do” to be a “good” Christian.
Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian author, has a book called, “Don’t Wrestle, Just Nestle.” It finally dawned on me to relax, quit trying to perform for God, and learn to accept God’s belovedness of me. Seek Him, not out of a sense of obligation but of love and gratitude for all the He has done for me in the Finished Work of The Cross of Christ. “Be Still and Know That I Am God” is an exhortation to be quiet and still to enter into and experience His presence.
Oddly enough, another thing that changed my devotional life, in the irony of ironies, is the computer! Me, Buck Reese, who can barely turn on a computer, found a program called “Word Search”. It has several features that helped me. It has a Bible Reading program that lets you choose what you want to read and how long you want to take reading it. In addition, it has a visual calendar, which is colored on the day that you are due to read the chosen passages. It is yellow to begin the day, and when you successfully read the passage and check the box, it will turn green, if you miss the day, it will turn red. This is, for me, a type of a behavior modification technique. It also has several daily devotionals to choose from and several versions of the Bible.
It is said that if you do something every day for twenty-three days in a row, it becomes a habit. I am not sure how long it took but now every day, I have developed a routine. I have set my computer to the day’s Bible reading to be the first thing on my screen when I turn it on. First, I go downstairs, get my coffee and graham cracker with peanut butter, come back to my office and sit down and begin to experience His presence through The Word.
Please hear me on this, I am not claiming to be a Martin Luther in my devotional life, but I found out what works for me.It is also liberating to me to be freed from the “should” of performing for God. It is no longer about performance. It is just a wonderful way to start the day!
BLESSINGS, DEAR FRIENDS!
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