Eliana Chow

A couple years ago, I made the commitment to move my set-aside time with the Lord to the early mornings. I woke up an hour earlier each day to spend time reading the Bible, praying, and listening to quiet worship songs. But after several months, I fell out of that habit. Suddenly, I was trying to cram in that time right before retiring for the night, and I began to feel the negative effects. It became a box to check off the list, rather than an active suiting-up in the armor of God to take on the day.

I’m finding that the morning stillness, before the chaos of a busy day, is important to take advantage of. There’s a lot to be said for starting the day off in God’s Word, rather than immediately checking my phone and getting lost in that labyrinth, or hitting the snooze button just because I’m lazy. Needless to say, it’s humanly easier to lie back and scroll through a bunch of pictures – with somewhat inspirational captions – than to pull out a Bible and engage in prayerful reading.

But the Christian life isn’t about ease. We make the daily decision to follow Jesus, no matter what other sacrifices we have to make to actively live like we truly believe He is who He says He is.

I don’t want to be legalistic about this. There’s no lock-and-key devotional formula that fits everyone’s life. People with night-shifts can’t exactly spend time in the morning to do anything but sleep (and we’re supposed to take care of our physical bodies, too!). The point is prioritizing.

There are so many things that Satan throws at us to distract us from spending intentional time with Jesus. We’re able to come up with a surprising number of excuses for skipping a day or two of Bible-reading and prayer. But it’s important to be intentional about personal devotions. The Bible is filled with words straight from God. How can we diminish its worth? How can we fill our days with an extra hour of social media when we could be learning more about the hope we have in Christ?

It’s a rhetorical question.

Sure, it’s easier said than done; I think we can all attest to that. But it is so, so worth it to fill our hearts and minds with Truth that lasts forever, rather than breeding discontentment by not having our priorities in the right place.

I believe Jesus comes first. But if my life doesn’t reflect that belief, it’s rather pointless. So, here’s to making a change for Christ.