A Light to My Path

A couple weeks ago I was listening to the radio and the program I was tuned into had on several ladies who were recounting the impact a daily reading of God's Word had in their life over the past year.  One women told how time and time again she would read something off a preplanned reading schedule and it was just what she needed to hear on that particular day.  I've experienced that myself so many times as well.  It made me think after hearing this women tell her story and thinking about my own life what an amazing God we have; as millions of people across the world are reading various parts of God's Word each day, He reveals something to them that is relevant to their own life!  Just sit and think about that for a moment.

When I think back to my teen and college years, I remember hearing youth leaders, Sunday School teachers, and professors talk about the importance of a daily quiet time with God.  My parents modeled the practice for me as well.  When I was a young girl, I would read a portion of the Bible out loud for family devotions, when I came to a word that I couldn't pronounce, I was always amazed how my dad would know what I was trying to pronounce without even looking at the Bible.  His knowledge came from years and years of time in God's word.

I want my own kids to have a love of God's Word and a desire to take time daily to read from it; but the truth is, in their immaturity, they don't always see how this practice is relevant to their life.  I have struggled over the years with knowing whether to force a daily quiet time on my kids because I want it to be their desire.

The conclusion I've come to is this... my kids may feel like God's Word is being forced upon them now, but my hope is that this practice, started young, will instill in them that God's Word is necessary for their daily life.

I would encourage you to help your children develop this practice now too.  You may want to find some devotional books that are age appropriate to guide them in this journey and Christian Book Distributors (CBD) is a great place to look.  Another option is to use the 5-5-5 method, which is simply five minutes of reading, 5 minutes of meditating and 5 minutes of praying.  Or have them read a Proverb a day, since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs they can read through it once a month.

One additional note, I try to remember to often ask my children what they've read.  Generally, they just regurgitate a bible story back to me, so I take it a step further and ask them how they can apply the story to their own life.  I want them to be thinking and to know that the Bible is for them and relevant to their life TODAY!

God has much to say about His Word...

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  (Psalm 119:105)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  (Hebrews 4:12)

 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.  (2 Timothy 3:16)