“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” (Joshua 1:8)
To develop and maintain a habit of spending intentional time in God’s Word, away from all distractions and tasks, can be very challenging. We probably all know how important it is to do, but it can be easily pushed out of our days by other things.
We are busy, and it can seem impossible to find a spare minute to just be quiet when there is so much to do. When we do begin to set time aside, we are easily distracted by social media, a text, or a phone call.
The classic saying is true; ‘Good habits are hard to form and easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with.’
And so, we should be challenged when we are reminded of the importance of spending time with God in his Word, which is “a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).
I have been hugely encouraged by my Wednesday Youth Growth Group, who, after a recent sermon touched on accountability, have taken the initiative to start reading through the same daily devotional together. They are encouraging each other and keeping one another accountable in the habit of daily time with God, which I hope remains a habit for life!
If you have a healthy habit of spending regular time in Scripture, you know how valuable and life-giving it can be. And let me encourage you to maintain that habit; it is vital to your relationship with God.
If you are struggling to form that habit, don’t be discouraged. The best habits are indeed hard to form. But the promise and incentive we receive from God is that to build a habit of regular time with Him in his Word is worth the effort.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1–3)
God bless,
Nathanael
