The Never Ending Gifts

I rolled over, shifted the covers, and opened one eye. Daylight. Now, what am I doing today? Oh yes—my Connection Challenge—read and meditate on Psalm 1:2-3. Since I had those verses memorized, I recited them silently while snuggling my warm blankets.

While getting dressed and ready for the day, my mind kept going back to the first part of the verse where it talks about delighting in God’s Word. Hmm, yesterday I wrote about delighting in the presence of the King. Did I see a theme developing?

So, did I delight in God’s Word? I know I didn’t always. It used to be a chore to sit myself down and read my Bible. But a few years back, I realized God has daily advice for me there that I don’t want to miss. Besides, reading my Bible soothes me by helping me see things from God’s perspective. Do I enjoy God’s Word—yes. Delight in it? I think I need to work on that a little.

I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a yogurt and spoon, and then sat down in the family room to read Psalm 1:2-3 in a different translation. This time I backed up and also read verse one. Wow, I’d never noticed the blessing. It says we are blessed if we delight in God’s Word and meditate on it. Cool.

From time to time throughout the day, I repeated the verses, contemplating them and asking God their meaning. No big lightning bolts of enlightement, but that wasn’t the purpose of this exercise anyway. The purpose was to help me connect with God, and it did.

The last part of the verse says those who meditate on God’s Word will bear fruit. For me today, one of those fruits was the nice conversations I had with Jesus.

Below is tomorrow’s “Connection Challenge” exercise:

Premise: To receive God’s power and peace in my life, I need to be connected to Jesus (John 15:4-5).

Guidelines: For 21 days, my only goal will be to connect with Jesus throughout each day. I can also do any other activity if I can do it with Jesus.

Connection Aid: Day 11, Thursday January 16: Pray

Isaiah 59:2 says our sins separate us from God. To find out if anything I’m doing is hindering my connection with Jesus, I will ask God to search my heart, like King David did in Psalm 139:23-24. If I am doing something that’s hurtful, I’ll ask for God’s forgiveness and help to make it right.