Week 4: Study

This week’s topic was convicting and pretty ironic. I had been too busy “studying” for school and didn’t have time until now to sit down and fully read this week’s devotional. I couldn’t help but make the connection—am I worshipping school? Have I become a slave to my schoolwork? Too often, I will put off having a quiet time in the morning and do some last minute studying for a test instead. I say I need a break from studying school material, so I space out and watch TV or go on Facebook, acting like reading the word of God is work!

I love what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:8—that our minds are to dwell only on those things that are “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent and worthy of praise. Like it says in the devotional, the only One who fits this description is GOD. Only He is worthy of our praise and worship and constant thought. When we worship anything but God, after a while we will become burnt out, tired and exhausted. God says His burden is light and His yoke is easy. No matter how much we pour into studying God’s word and building that relationship with Him, we will not experience the same tiredness and exhaustion that we experience from studying school material. This is because Jesus seeks to have a personal relationship with us and His word is alive and transforms souls. What a beautiful reality!