Can I tell you a secret? I hate devotional tools. After over 4 years of writing this blog, and over 100 entries, this admission may be the final nail in the coffin for some of my readers. I know there are millions of people who grow & thrive on reading daily articles, blurbs and prayers written by other people, but I'm not one of them. Devotional tools, such as books or email mailouts just don't do it for me, I'm afraid.
I wish I liked them. I wish I could wake up every morning, open My Daily Bread (or any number of other devotional books) and really appreciate & feast on what is written. It would be satisfying, I think, to be able to check-off that spiritual discipline before I even finish my corn flakes. Alas, that has rarely ever worked for me.
I've had seasons when I have devoted a tithe (10%) of my wakeful hours to Bible study. I have had years where I read my Bible and journaled daily. I have had desperate times when all I could do was put on worship music, lay down and cry day after day- too heartbroken to open my Bible or pick up a book. Recently my devotion is an ongoing conversation with God, as I go about my day, eventually diving into the Word when I've organized my thoughts enough to hear something in return.
I don't like that my devotion isn't as neat and tidy as others'; I look forward to the next evolution of my devotion, whatever that might be. But in the meantime it's real and that matters, I think.
John 15: 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you,
you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
With the new year underway, and my new job providing fresh excitement and perspective, I want to lean into my devotion to God; not just that which is measurable, but my heart's connection to my savior, redeemer and refuge. In 2024 I will remain hopefully devoted to Him.