DAILY SUSTENANCE (cont'd)
How do we accomplish this? We all have busy lives. It seems that to
dwell in the Word of God all day long would be impossible, but it’s
not. In fact, it definitely can and must be done. First we must start
off with the Word of God in the morning. David asked God to, “Cause
me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning.” Psa. 143:8. If
we are to spend the entire day in the Word then surely we must begin
first thing in the morning. As soon as we get up we must sit down
and read from the Bible. We must go to God and get fed from His Word
first thing. If we fail to start out the day with God, we certainly
will fail to spend the entire day with Him in His Word. Ok, so we
set apart some time, first thing, in the morning to read God’s
Word. How do we continue this all day long?
Obviously we are not going to walk around all day with a copy of the
Bible in our hands, reading as we go. What a comedy that would be!
When we read our Bible in the morning, we need take with us the portion
that God speaks to us from. That means that we need to spend enough
time with God in His Word in the morning to come away with something
to chew on. We chew on God’s Word by meditating on what God
has revealed to us. God tells us, “Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the
law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psa. 1:1-2. The way we consume the Word of God all day is to meditate
on what God gives us in the morning. Psa. 119:97 also reads, “O
how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day.”
It is also good to review what God has given to us in the morning
at lunch time. Some of us have very short lunch times. Reading God’s
Word at lunch would be wonderful, if we are able to do it. For those
who can’t, we can review what God gave us in the morning. Reviewing
is an aid to learning. Paul reminds us of the need to review in Rom.
12:2 saying, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” To renew
our minds is to bring them back into full alignment with the Word.
Reviewing what God has given to us that day will help us to renew
ourselves, keeping our image more like Christ. Review, review, review,
and lunch time is a great time to do so.
When the day is about to come to an end, it is good to once again
get alone with God and spend time in His Word. It is well known that
what you think on just before going to bed is what you generally dream
on at night and think on first thing in the morning. Psa. 1:1-2 says
that the man/woman of God meditates on God’s Word all day and
all NIGHT. You won’t be dreaming about godly things if they
are not on your mind when you go to bed. So we need to read and think
on God’s Word all day and all night.
Practically though, what method gives the most consistent results.
Many Christians read their Bible in the morning, but go away empty.
They have read the Word but have not heard from God. Just as we just
mentioned, we must hear from God and come away every time with something
to chew on. So how do we go about insuring a good morning time in
the Word? The psalmist in Psa. 119:18 asks God, “Open Thou mine
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” We
need to ask God to enable us to see or understand His Word. Again
the psalmist asks God in Psa. 119:33-34, “Teach me, O Lord,
the way of Thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me
understanding, and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with
my whole heart.” God will teach us His Word and help us to understand
it with our heart, if we will ask Him to. So, start out each session
in the Word of God by asking God to help you to understand His Word
and get what He has for you for that day.
Second, don’t be in a hurry. Make sure you have set aside plenty
of time. If you rush through your time in the Bible you will go away
empty. We need to be fed or we will not have the spiritual strength
to endure the battles of the day.
