I’m a type-A, driven person. This means that when I set myself out to accomplish things I usually try and do it as tenaciously as possible. I once read an entire book (titled What the Bible Says About Covenant, not the most engaging read) in one “sitting” on a Saturday in college. I just read this book in two days. I don’t say this to point out any talent or ability of my own, rather to setup an issue that I struggle with…
I don’t like things that are daily.
I like to tackle a project and finish it. Things that need to happen daily just seem to drain me of energy and motivation. Here’s an example: I try to be the one to regularly do dishes in our family. Every day is a battle and I usually feel that I’m on the losing end. I swear my family just throws things in the sink while I’m at work. Or like I wrote about here, I don’t like reading books that take me an inordinate amount of time to finish. This all leads me to an issue far more impacting than the dirty dishes in my sink…
God wants to meet with me daily.
And I need it. The problem is that I’m not good with the whole daily thing. For the last few years I’ve been on a reading plan to read the Bible in a year. It’s hard for me not to want to read ahead and get it done early. Whenever I think about this, I wonder to myself what would happen if I did that. If I finished my reading plan in October, would I take November and December “off” from my Bible reading and personal time with God? Obviously no. So why can’t I just seem to be content with each day?
My desire to conquer things always runs contrary to my desire to experience God.
God will not be conquered. He will not be mastered. He will not be finished. You will never check him off of a to-do list. His glory is all-encompassing. His wisdom is all-surpassing. His very being overwhelms us… and He does it every single day. I love the way Scot McKnight described it in his book The Blue Parakeet:
“God did not give the Bible so we could master him or it; God gave the Bible so we could live it, so we could be mastered by it.”
So I commit to pursuing Him… daily.
Especially when it isn’t easy. Especially when it causes me to feel weak in the things that I can control. I choose to read my Bible one day at a time.
Question: How do you tackle those things that happen daily?
Hey bro,
What did you think of The Explicit Gospel…its a bigger deal in Seattle because Driscoll drops Chandler’s name on occasion as part of the Gospel Coalition folks (Neo-Calvinist folks)? Also, Scot McKnight..good stuff. Do you agree?
Hope you are doing well, dude.
TG
Really great post. I also have trouble with the day to day stuff. My real issue is getting all pumped up for something and then 10 days later I want nothing to do with it.
Lots of heart in this post (especially for a type A)…kidding…relax and go eat a cookie
I actually wasn’t all that impressed with it (I rated it a 2 out of 5). I didn’t feel like it shared anything new other than a modern day restatement of Calvinist theology for our culture (of which I don’t resonate with much).
Scot McKnight on the other hand is amazing…
Thanks Hedrick. I still got heart
Jeremy,
Are you sure we aren’t related? We share the same type-A over-driven personality as well as loving to read books and develop like crazy!
In other words I struggle with this big time too. How do I try and overcome this? This scripture seems to help me:
Psalm 119:105:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
He doesn’t say he will light up the entire path so we can go conquer it on our own time (all in one day for us). He says he lights just enough at our feet so we can see the next step. A light so we can see this days work, this days time with him etc.
Dan
Great insight Dan. Love it.
I cannot stick to a daily devotional program set up by another because I compulsively read beyond the day’s limit. I read by books or chapters of my own choice. I do read daily but not by someone else’s plan. I suppose I lack discipline, but I become engrossed in
what I am reading and forget to stop.
I totally feel you on that. I’m glad you’ve found your own system that works for you.