It's terribly late here... 2:15 am, so I am not sure how coherent I will be after a long and stressful week. I was tempted to not come journal and crawl in bed instead, but I want to use this as a time to bring some ideas to completion in my head... or at least nearer to completion than they are currently.
I just had a really really great time of reading and meditation in the Word (aided by a chapter from John Piper's Desiring God) and I wanted to scribble out a few ideas.
One thing I believe God is really pointing me toward is making time every morning to immerse myself in His Word before starting the day. That'll be difficult for me, considering I am a little more of a night person than a morning person (although I'm pretty evenly an all-day person), and would obviously rather stay up late than get up early. But I was reading a portion of Piper's book in which he quotes George Muller which speaks to this idea:
"I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials in various ways than I had ever had before; and after having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it. How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials and the temptations of the day come upon one!" I am one of the fellow-believers that Muller is "affectionately and solemnly beseeching," and I can't imagine that God wouldn't bless my desire and goal to spend more time in His word, particularly in the morning. For "in the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:3)
The second idea tumbling about in this tired brain of mine is the concept of saturating myself in the word of the Lord. How I long to know His words backwards and forwards, and then I might have at least the beginnings of the "knowledge and depth of insight" written about in Philippians 1:9, so that I might be able to "discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ..." Piper says, "People whose minds are saturated with God's Word and submissive to his thoughts have a wisdom that in eternity will prove superior to all the secular wisdom in the world." The word "saturated" implies being filled to overflowing. According to Merriam-Webster to saturate is: 1.) to satisfy fully 2.) to treat, furnish, or charge with something to the point where no more can be absorbed, dissolved, or retained 3.) to fill completely with something that permeates or pervades. Combine all these definitions of the word satisfy and see that this is just what we must do as followers of Christ. And when we do this, when we read and meditate and store away these treasures in our heart and memory, they are not merely dead, useless facts. No! Just the opposite: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16) The word of Christ doesn't merely survive or "get by," it dwells RICHLYand abundantly.
And now the eyelids are fighting to stay propped open. I think I'll call it a night. Thanks for reading my ramblings if you still are... :)
~Sarah~