The Endless List

I am amazed some days by my lack of interest and focus in the task of reading which I once enjoyed more than anything. Perhaps it is the busyness of life which has robbed me of the kind of inner quiet I need to enjoy words. Lately I have found that if it is not the Bible or my piano music on my lap, I simply will not finish it though I start with grand intentions.

Today I am determined to begin finishing what I start--not for my own satisfaction, but for a renewed fire to seek God in my Bible and win daily spiritual victories for the name of Christ. Thus, I begin with a book that has long been calling my name: it is called Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Could I not benefit by being struck with the ultimate joy found in God's presence and an intimate relationship with Him?

It is clear that the pleasures and temptations of the world are joyless: the little I have seen and experienced echoes the truth of that. Even joys that seem like they should satisfy (relationships, success, security) just can't give our hearts what we crave. So, today I am praying that the Lord will give me a sense of urgency and focus to drink from His Word and His heart everything my thirsty soul needs...that I may pour it out on others.

As my booklist grows, my sense of inadequacy and inability can grow as well. Every good thing I plan and reach for can seem so unattainable. You know what I mean...Holiness. Purity. Selfless service. Knowledge. Truth. They hit like hammers when I realize how many times, how many ways I miss the mark. But Paul encourages us to "press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," so I know I must keep going.

School will start, the busyness will worsen, and I shudder to think of the excuses that will pile up in my heart to be lackadaisical about drinking enough out of God's fountain.

Pray for me today, I ask..as a sister. And be encouraged that God will give us strength for the day as we drink from the Living Water. Our inadequacies will never be too much for His grace. Our strongest desires will never be too much for Him to fill...and fill COMPLETELY.