I've Been Waiting My Whole Life

Happy Thursday!

I hope and pray that God has revealed Himself to you in a special way this week and that you have experienced an extra dose of His joy and peace.

This week I had a conversation with my daughter, Haleigh, that made me laugh. I was sharing with her that she was going to be getting her 4th grade Bible from the church this Sunday during worship. You see, it is our tradition to give a special Bible to all children who are entering the 4th grade. It celebrates their continued growth and it encourages them to stay connected to God's story in our lives.

When I shared with her the news, I was not prepared for her reaction. She said, "Yeah! I can't wait! I've been waiting my whole life for that, Daddy!"

In all honesty, I figured I'd get a response more down the alley of a quick, "OK", or maybe even no response at all. But, much to my chagrin, she found joy in the news that she was going to be receiving her Bible. It is a moment she has been anticipating and looking forward to.

Because of Haleigh's response, I will approach the giving out of the Bibles in a different way. Sometimes things become ritualistic over time and we forget how holy and set apart these moments can be in our lives. When I hand out the Bibles this Sunday, the moment will be a holy moment - a moment in which God is alive, working, and speaking to those precious children that will be receiving His word.

Haleigh's response also got me to thinking about how we receive God's Word in our lives. Do we look forward to God speaking to us? Do we acknowledge His presence in the words we read and the pages we turn? When you read God's Word, is it a holy moment?

I know I run the risk of offending some, and it is not my intent, but I think Christians today have lost the joy and excitement of God's Word in their lives. I think it has become a ritual we do in the mornings, or in our weekly studies, or in worship. We have failed to enter into the holy moments God offers when we enter into His story. We have become lazy in our approach to Scripture, thinking that all we have to do is read the words and we've completed our spiritual duty for the day or week. We have lost the joy of anticipating what God is going to say to us through His Holy Word.

How do we get that joy back? Maybe we listen and learn from a 9-year-old girl. Maybe we take stock of how we have treated God's word, approached God's word, listened to God's word - we repent and we ask for a new heart. A heart that desires to see life spring from the words we read. A heart that desires to embrace the hope that is not bound by the covers of the Bible. A life that approaches God and His word with the sense that we've been waiting our whole lives for what He is going to share with us.

Gracious God, help me to experience holy moments with You. Grant me a heart that joyously receives Your Word for me and a life that embraces the change You want to see in me. In Jesus' holy name I pray. Amen.

Take Care & God Bless,

Pastor Don