Day 4 :: The Truth and our Time

If we’re going to talk about a truth driven heart, we have to talk about our time.

Time is precious.  There are countless things that pull us each day, stealing those minutes we hold so dear.  Seasons of life bring changes in the way our time looks in a given day.

Regardless of the season of life, every day will always have 24 hours.

Having a heart driven by the truth means that some of those 24 hours must be spent in the truth.  This means opening up the Word of God and reading it.

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In the Old Testament, the kings of Israel were required to write a copy of the law of God, and then Deuteronomy goes on to say,

“And it [the law] shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left.”  {Deuteronomy 17:19-20}.

I’m pretty sure the Kings of Israel were busy.  But, God gave them a command, even in the midst of their busyness, that gave priority to His Word.  He knew that by reading the law, the heart of the king would be driven in God’s ways.

Devotional books are helpful, Christian living books have a lot to offer, blog posts centered on the Word of God talk about truth.  However, nothing should take the place of actually opening up the Bible and spending time reading what God has to say.  {In fact, I don’t want you to read this series if you haven’t first spent time reading God’s Word}.

The days following Mason’s birth were rough.  Sleep was hit or miss, as it always is with a newborn, and emotionally I was worn out.  But, I found that the most important thing for me to do to walk through all of that was to spend time in the truth.  As the truth flooded my heart my faith increased and I was able to face a hard time with confidence and peace in God.

Let’s not be deceived into thinking that somehow we can put aside God’s Word during busy seasons of life.  Make it a priority.  For me, that means getting up a lot earlier than the rest of my family so that I have time in the Word.  It might look differently for you, but it must happen in every season of life if we want to have a truth driven heart.

My friend Mary Beth touched on this same issue yesterday during her 31 Days series.