January 5, 2017 Time Well Spent DR. JAMES MERRITT

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.“ Psalm 37:4-7 (NIV)

There is an old saying “time is money.” That really isn’t true. The real truth is “time is life.” Life comes down to the time we have on this earth and how we spend it.

The older I get, the more I realize the most precious time in life is when I spend it with the people I love the most. Even after 40 years of marriage, I love spending time with my precious Teresa. One-on-one. Just the two of us. I have never gotten over the fact that … a) she married me, and b) she still loves to spend time with me.

Yet even more amazing to me is that God desires to spend time with me!

In fact, He wants to spend time with you and me so badly that He paid in order to get it. He sent Jesus to remove every barrier, tear down every wall and unlock every door so we could have a personal relationship with Him. In fact, He gave us His Word so we could hear from Him constantly and consistently.

That’s why I love to read my Bible. I know God wants me to have unrestricted access to Him, anywhere and anytime I want. God has a personal side and He wants me to know it. God wants you to get to know Him better so you can love Him fully, hear Him clearly and experience His guidance. This comes by spending time with Him in His Word.

A king by the name of David wrote a song about the benefits of spending time with God, showing us why this should be a top priority of our life.

Spending Time with God Causes Me to Reflect God’s Character
Just as I enjoy spending precious time with my wife, God is delighted when we are delighted in Him! He loves to be our eyes and ears so He can speak into our heart.

Have you noticed the more time you spend with someone, the more you become like them? As we spend time with God and His Word, He changes us so we become more like Him. God changes us so He can use us to change other people. You simply cannot spend time with God, hear His Word, know Him better, love Him more and be the same person.

Spending Time with God Causes Me to Receive God’s Blessings
God promises that when we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. Now this is not a “your wish is my command!” promise. As we spend time with God, we will delight in Him. His desires become our desires because our hearts are tuned to His. He will grant us what we desire, because we both want the same thing!

Spending Time with God Causes Me to Rest in God’s Will
As we spend time with God and His Word, our faith and trust in Him will grow. Fear is replaced by faith, and worry is replaced by worship. Spending quality time with God and consistently studying His Word grows our confidence in His power and our commitment to His plans for our lives.

So today … set aside time to spend with the One who is above all time. It will be time well spent.

Heavenly Father, thank You for wanting to spend time with me and inviting me to spend time with You. Help me prioritize this time with You, knowing it is the path to divine power and meaningful productivity in the time You have given me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (NIV)

RELATED RESOURCES:
Why does the Bible often collect dust on our shelves? Why don't we mine the wisdom filling its pages? Gain a big-picture view of God’s message to you through Dr. James Merritt’s latest book, 52 Weeks Through the Bible.

CONNECT:
Enter to WIN a copy of 52 Weeks Through the Bible by Dr. James Merritt. In celebration of this book, Dr. Merritt's publisher is giving away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and email notifications to each one by Monday, January 9, 2017.}

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
What are the barriers that keep you from spending time with God?

What are you willing to give up today to make spending time with God a priority? Make that commitment to God now.

© 2017 by Dr. James Merritt. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Harvest House Publishers for their sponsorship of today's devotion.