Never Wasted Time
What will you spend your time on today. What is your top priority? Is it in the important or does the urgent seem to keep you from the important? There are days when urgent is what is important but often times, at least in my own life, tending to the urgent is only a distraction from caring for what is important. There are also moments in which it is neither important or urgent, but rather wasted that eats up a good majority of our time. One recent study claims that on average, we spend 2.5 hours per days scrolling through social media. That is more than one month per year. Can we agree, for the most part, that time falls into the wasted category.
Regardless of what else you do today – important, urgent, wasted, or doing nothing (sometimes very important!) – and every other day, I encourage you to spend some time meditating on Scripture. That is What verse you ask? How do I find the verse(s) to read? I say either open your Bible to any page and read the two pages in front of you, asking God to speak to you through those verses OR turn to your favorite verse and read twenty or so verses before it and after it, and again, ask God to speak to you, maybe even revealing something fresh and new. Before you begin, ask God to reveal what needs revealed to you. He promised to reveal Himself to you if you earnestly look for Him. Proverbs 8:17 says this: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”
Unlike your favorite secular book that is simply words on a page, and while that book is often good, riveting, consuming, referential, challenging, inspiring, motivating, fun to read, happy, sad, tear jerking, gut wrenching, informational, self-helping, it is a mere book, not usually transformational. However, the Bible is, if we allow God to speak to us through it, is alive and active, drawing us into an ever-deepening relationship with Him, making it a source of guidance for daily living.
Here is what the Bible says about itself — “God’s word is alive and powerful! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts” (Hebrews 4:12, CEV).
We memorized many verses in Vineyard’s ministry school, but the one we memorized on the very first day, and for me the one that is still foundational to my reading and meditating, is that verse in Hebrews.
So, carve out time and space today to spend with God. You’ll be glad you did. That time spent is always of great value. It is never wasted time. And even if no verses or words jump off the pages at you, just the fact that you ingested them, you can trust they are providing nourishment to your hungry and thirsty soul. Then wash, rinse, and repeat tomorrow and every day thereafter.
Note from Dave: As I do periodically, I will be taking a break from writing for the first part of September in order to rest, recharge, refresh. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my writings. It is my hope that you consider the time you spend reading my stuff as falling into the beneficial category. Not important as is reading God’s Word, but hopefully time well spent, nonetheless. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
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