What’s your plan to grow in your knowledge of God and His Word? How’s it going? As I write this, we’re almost a month into a new year, and I’m guessing scores of resolutions have already died a quick and quiet death. How’s that Bible reading plan progressing? Are you on track? How about getting up early so you can spend some quiet time in prayer with the Lord?
Are you still making it out of bed into the cold, dark morning? History and experience say things probably aren’t going so well. I’m actually ahead on my Bible reading, but falling woefully short in other areas. There are legitimate reasons we fall off target. But, the truth is, we are all trading our heartfelt commitments for things that are far inferior and worthless.
Personally, this month brought illness, hospitalization, serious injury, and even death to my family. Many of you have experienced much worse things. It’s easy to use the trials of life as an excuse for not keeping certain commitments. Indeed, sometimes life comes at us so fast that it gets difficult to even breathe. I can absolutely relate, and so can God. He sees what’s going on in our lives and knows the state of our hearts when we made those commitments. Our God is not a harsh and uncaring being, looking for an excuse to put a mark on your record. He hurts alongside you and longs to welcome you into His rest.
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself if you are falling behind… as long as there are legitimate reasons for it. Adjust for reality and change your plan. However, if you have no excuse other than laziness or apathy, that’s a whole different ballgame. You are messing up. What’s your plan to fix the plan? You made a commitment to Christ. Why are you not afraid to back out on that? You promised something to the all-powerful God and Creator. You lied. Ask for forgiveness and immediately get back to your commitment.
Perhaps you had no plan to begin with and are just playing it by ear. That’s not a plan. That’s a cop-out. It’s time, no, it’s past time, to get off the fence and commit. If Jesus isn’t worth your time, He will never be worth your life. Something has to change. You must get serious and choose Christ from now until the end of your days. How will you live that out? What’s your plan?
A close walk with Christ will never happen by accident. You must be intentional about your relationship with Him or you will drift away. It doesn’t matter if a thousand plans have failed before, begin again. Dedicate yourself to reading God’s Word and spending focused time in prayer with Him. If I sound like a broken record, it’s because we all need constant reminders to bolster our faith. There’s no better remedy for a wavering faith than Bible study and prayer. You will never have space for either unless you intentionally carve out time before and above everything else. So, let’s get serious. For the rest of this year, what’s your plan?