Joseph Brock

"With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments."
Psalm 119:10

One of the hardest things to master in the Christian life is a consistent, meaningful devotional life. Many times a Christians find themselves in one of two extremes. On one end, believers find it difficult to read their Bibles and pray consistently. Usually when one struggles to have a regular devotional w, there is something that is taking its place. Frequently, sleep is the great thief of time with the Lord. In Proverbs 20:13, the Bible says, "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." What a convicting verse! Extra sleep does not bring satisfaction, the Word of God does.Other things and people can substitute our time with God. What is it in your life that is keeping you from consistently spending time with God? There is also a danger in having a consistent routine in God's Word. This danger brings us to the other extreme and it has to do with our motive. Notice what the psalmist says in Psalm 119:10: "With my whole heart have I sought thee..." His motive had to do with his heart being right with God. In verse eleven, he says "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The psalmist had a desire to be right with God. He was afraid that if he were to neglect time with God, he would wander into sin. This motive is far nobler than the feeble motives that many of us have. Many times, a consistent devotional life develops into a duty that is only performed out of obligation. In Joel 2:13, the Bible says, "...rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God:" The people to whom this was written to were accustomed to showing an outward form of repentance. God wanted their repentance to be a heart issue, not an outward show. God is not interested in our heartless duty. When reading God's Word our motive should be to know and obey Christ because we understand our inability to live a victorious Christian life on our own. Where are you in your walk with the Lord? Some of us need to rearrange our lives and routines so that we can consistently spend time with Christ. Others need to have their hearts stirred and their motives renewed. Let us all have the plea of the psalmist, "O let me not wander from thy commandments." May God help us to spend time with Him, so that we can have victory and fellowship in the Christian life.