Week 4: Dwell on These Things

"Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new each morning" Lamentations 3:23.

When I stop and really think about what my day consists of, I realize just how distant I am from God a lot of the time. I wake up, go to class, eat lunch, go back to class, do homework, eat dinner, do more homework/ hang out in my room, then go to bed. That's a normal, weekday schedule for me. Where is my Jesus time? Ha. Good question...
I have never been good at intentionally setting aside time for God. I find it a lot easier to just talk to Him throughout my day and not exactly set aside a time to sit down to pray and study His word. Easier, maybe, but certainly not always effective. Or obedient to what Paul told the church to do... "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." I read these verses and think, "I wish! That's impossible to do, Paul. I am faced with too many distractions, too many earthly values and worries everyday. There's no way I could think on only these things..." I think that Paul's response to me would be, "Maybe it is impossible while were in our human bodies here on earth. But that doesn't mean it's any less important."
He would be right. In fact, just as the devotional said, it is possibly the most important discipline for Christians. I have noticed huge growth in my faith when I stick with a study of the word. Last year I read through Luke, Acts and some of Paul's letters and had a one on one discussion with my youth pastor each week. I was so full of questions and observations that our meetings often went well over the allotted time, but I loved it. It was a top priority for a few months of my life, and just now I am remembering how much I cherished it. And what a joy it is for me to know that His word is still there for me, though I have been away for quite some time. What a joy for all of us to know that God's word and stories are always waiting for us, no matter how long we have been away! "GREAT is your faithfulness, oh God; Your mercies are new each morning!"

I will be making an effort this week, and in all the weeks to come, to sit down and study!

Hope you are all doing well :)

Grace and Peace,
Hannah