Author: Tyler Robbins
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8
If you’re anything like me, this is the time of the year you’re already faced with failure of your New Year’s Resolutions. Stumbling out of the gates in your goal to exercise more, eat less, and be consistent with daily time with God. Some people like to spend late December telling everyone their resolutions, presumably putting the pressure on themselves to maintain through accountability. I always preferred to tell no one and fail silently!
For years it’s been a goal of mine to spend every day in God’s word, but before last year that desire was never strong enough to overcome the pull of my daily pressures and diversions. Something always came up, which is another way of saying I continued to choose other things as more important. Reading the Bible consistenly is difficult – What did I last read? Where did I leave off last? And where is my Bible?
Last year, heading into 2011 a friend turned me on to something that gave me some new hope – Daily Audio Bible. Knowing my schedule, amount of time I’m in the car, and the fact that my Smartphone is ever-present with me, I decided to turn to this ministry which was started by a guy named Brian Hardin. He has been reading through the entire Bible every year for 6 years now and posting it online for us to listen to. He makes it available through a podcast, through an iPhone or Android app, or directly on the website. Every day you get a bit of Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs as you work your way through the entire Bible. The ministry has grown to include a Daily Audio Bible for kids, and for adults in multiple other languages.
Brian claimed at the beginning of the year that if you went through this journey with him it would be life changing. That was certainly true for me, but not for the reasons I expected. I hoped that having someone read it to me would make the Bible come alive on a daily basis. Some days it really did, but not most days. I hoped that I would leave each daily reading deeply enriched spiritually; satisfied that God had spoken to me. Some days I felt like He really did, but not every day. I hoped that I would daily ponder the truth and wisdom of God’s word, but most days when it was done I quickly moved on with the pressures of life.
But something else happened that I didn’t expect. I stuck with it. I stayed with God’s word and kept it close to me. I decided to make it a part of my life. I checked in with God every day and I give Him a chance to speak to me. I went in looking for a daily mountain-top experience, and instead got a daily refreshing cup of coffee with the Creator of the Universe.
That last paragraph had a lot of I’s in it for a reason. While the Holy Spirit ultimately is the transformer of our life, I have a part, we have a part – we have to push other things out and let Him in. We have to actively crowd out the distractions of this live to make time for Christ. We need to choose Him over this world. By doing so you make space for a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, and day by day you forge a deeper connection with Him. Hopefully you’ve done that in a major way at some point in your life, but more importantly hopefully you’re doing that continually every single day of your life.
The other thing I discovered as I went along is that spending daily time listening to his Word kept bringing me back to God’s center on a daily basis. Each day away from God’s word we drift unnoticeably away from Him. You might not see it for days at a time, but left unchecked for weeks or months you will find your thoughts and actions further and further away from Him. I came to see two of my morning rituals similarly – I would step on the scale to check my weight, and spend time listening to His Word to check my spirit. Each would allow me to measure myself on a daily basis and do minor course corrections.
We all know how hard habits are to form, and the older we are the harder they get. One of the gifts we can give our children is helping them to instill a habit of daily time with God. This can start young, even before they can read, spending daily time talking about God and praying with them. As they get older, it’s really important to ensure our kids have a daily time with God before they move on to all the other activities. I knew of one friend that would not let his kids watch any TV or computer/phone each day until they had first done their quiet time.
If you’re not in the habit of being in God’s work daily, maybe the Daily Audio Bible will help you like it helped me. Even if we don’t get through the Bible in a year, spending daily time with God helps us to be an example to our kids as we encourage them to do the same. And even if we haven’t mastered that discipline ourselves yet, we should make it a goal of ours to impart to our kids a habit of spending time daily with God and His Word.
Other Resources:
Customized Daily Reading Plan: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/
Thank you for your thoughtful post, dear husband! I have admired how you have “stuck with it” this year and have seen a change in you as a result. Creating that daily habit is so important. I know for myself I crave time with God and His word. I often long for more time. We know, too, as parents that our model impacts more than our words… living it out! I’m so glad we’ve established the habit of a daily quiet time for our children and that we are modeling it too!
I love the honesty of this post and what a great reminder of the importance of daily time with God!
Great words of wisdom and encouragement Tyler. Thank you!
I love how you found your ‘sticking with the Word’ in the Daily Audio Bible. That is true many times in our busy homeschooling household as well. We can all gather around and listen to the Daily Audio Bible for Kids – read by Max or China (children themselves) – and with the app – it’s even easier to listen going to and fro piano lessons and more. Thank you for this encouragement – and the “I” list. We have a part, definitely!