Turning Your habit to a heart enthralled with Jesus.
May this new year bring new habits…
May those new habits direct us to live a fulfilled life..
May that fulfilled life reflect a heart enthralled…
May that heart live solely enthralled with our King Jesus…
Developing good habits. A great way to start the new year, right? A fresh start. A clean sheet of paper in which our life story unfolds.
Source: Pinterest
What about starting a heart habit of daily time with Jesus?
Many years ago I set out on the habit, the resolution if you will, of reading through the Bible. I loved the idea of checking off a little box next to each passage in a great reading plan. But I never stuck with it. I felt shame and failure.
Then God spoke to my heart telling me it is ok to miss checking that box everyday for He is concerned with the RELATIONSHIP that develops in my daily time with Him.
I realized that my time in God’s word should serve as a connection. A connection to the very King of the Universe who so graciously gives us His Word to chew on, to soak in, to LIVE OUT! It is much more than just checking the box daily.
The next day I picked up my Bible and that reading plan, more focused on connecting with God than the word count I would cover over the next several minutes. The following day I did the same thing. The day after…the same thing…
Soon this habit served as a catalyst to my heart growing more and more enthralled with Jesus. This time in His Holy Word soaked into my heart and lead me to seek Him out daily. This enthralled heart craved time with Him.
But it all started with a habit.
Consistant, intentional, engaged.
Turning A Habit Into A Heart Enthralled. Here are a few things to think about:
~Consistancy. Make time daily but find a time that you are most alert and engaged. For some that might be first thing in the morning. For others that might be during lunch break at work.
~No condemnation. Though it really is to our benefit to spend time with the Lord daily, Your King will not lock you out if you skip time with Him. Know that He will be waiting for you with open arms.
~A heart asking for forgiveness. Start out asking God to forgive you of whatever sin or mistakes you’ve made. This will break down any walls of guilt you might feel and place your heart in a position to where you can learn from that sin/mistakes through what God has to say to you in His word.
~Take a bit a day. I encourage you to sit down with your Bible and read a chapter or two at a time as you read through an entire book. This is the best way to get the full context of what God is saying in that book, what themes and teachings He has for us.
~Enthralled and Engaged. Grab a journal and a pen. Take some time to write out a Bible verse that stands out to you as you read through a chapter or a passage. Write out what that passage is saying to you. Highlight key words. Another great way to stay engaged is to write out your prayers. A pen in hand keeps your mind more focused rather than taking you down rabbit trails.
Please hear me say that Bible reading plans and Bible study books are a VERY GOOD THING. Heck, I even wrote one myself! (Stress Point). All of these resources are a great way to grow you and draw you near to God and His Word.
These are just a few thoughts about how I turned my habit of Bible reading into a relationship with Jesus.
What do you think? How can you turn your habit into a heart enthralled?
Let’s chat…leave a comment!
Love the steps you wrote out here Sarah, super helpful!!
I have struggled with the reading plan and I found myself off track. Thanks for sharing that I am not off and reminding me it is about the relationship I find in just picking the bible up and reading what God shows me. Thank you Sarah!!
It’s great that we acknowledge that our relationship with God is more important than memorizing verses.i think a lot of Christians feel its a priority to memorize the Bible to show their faith, even I at times have felt that its pertinent to being a Christian and have felt guilty that I didn’t know as much as others. This made me wonder if God would still accept me if I died today and had to face truth that I wasn’t an expert on the Bible.
Personailly though, I’ve always been engaged in God’s word and felt a strong connection in my relationship with Him through His word; however, my downfall is not being consistent with reading. Sometimes that makes me wish I was someone who liked checking off the boxes in the daily planner :) I’ve been trying to get through the book of Samuel..maybe it would have been smarter to start with a smaller book, but I think this one is going to be one of my favorites because its just so awesome.
Ashley, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are great books chock full of exciting Bible stories and characters–real life! I’m glad that you are digging into your Bible and the Old Testament.
Try looking at your time in the Word as taking in food…spiritual food. When we start to apply what we learn in the Bible and the relationship that develops because of it, we crave that time because we see tangible benefits. I’m wondering if you could start journaling through what God is speaking to you when you sit down with the Word and also how you see His Word in action in life as well. This might give you a great reference point to pull from when you just don’t want to or feel like making time.
What is about not spending time with God that brings about this horrible guilty feeling?! I mean I struggle to find anyone who has not been there, right? but…I love that you’ve reminded us that God is always ready to welcome us with open arms…this is the picture we much always focus on and remember :)
Thanks for these steps Sarah, so helpful and challenging in such an inspiring way! :)
Emma Louise–I think you bring up a great point about guilt. Yes–God is ready and willing to welcome us back into His presence when we’ve been astray for awhile. I’m wondering if that guilt might be a sense of longing or a knowing that something (Being with Your Heavenly Father) is missing. Kind of like a heart tugging. Just a thought…need to chew on this some more. Glad you brought it up!
Great steps, Sarah! When I was sixteen, I sat down with the goal of knowing God and I read the Bible each day. I read through the Four Gospels first. Taking time to hang out with God changed my life. I began to realize that just like my other relationships need attention and care, so does my relationship with God. It’s been six and a half years since I decided to know God and I’ve never regretted that decision. :)
I love that you had such a spiritually mature goal at such a young age, Debra! Praise Jesus!
Confession of Sins before entering into prayer and worship is so important if you want to feel and see his righteousness and mercy. God allows the pain to leave our bodies so that we will feel clean again. I am so thankful for this. This post hits home to me-like a dagger into my heart. It is exactly where I strive to be when I’m spending time with The Lord, seeking him out and letting his works be done through me. I am glad I have this to hold me accountable. Thank You :)
Thank you Sarah for this encouragment! I was just thinking on my way home tonight that I am going to read through my bible this year… I have always started and then gone off track but this year I am determined!! I am also going to only read one chapter maybe two at the most each day… with the schedule that these plans have you on they have you reading like 2 or 3 or more chapters a day.. I dont get anything out of it if i do that.. So i a telling myself that i am going to read 1 0r 2 chapters so i can get the most and learn from my reading and not just reading to read or read and not understand it! I know its going to take me more than a year.. But I dont care I am DETERMINED!
For me, read the Bible in a year plans don’t seem to work. They are such large chunks that I find ,yself thinking more about how many more chapters are left for that day. I’ve found smaller chunks, like a few verses and reading them over a few times, deconstructing them worls better for me. Though a problem I’ve been having is as soon as I sit down to read I suddenly can’t stop thinking about everything that needs to be done. It just assaults me, something I’m definitely praying about and working on.
I remember as a teen when I got the revolve NT , man I couldn’t wait to get up and read it , it was awesome ! It’s the Word of of God , it can only be awesome! Now , I still love reading the Bible , so cool!:)