Guess what? I finished the Old Testament this weekend. Now we should back up a minute so there’s no confusion. I didn’t read it in one weekend. To be honest I didn’t read it in one year.
I bought a Chronological Bible several years ago. I’m not sure how many but I’m thinking around 4 years ago give a year or so. I had these grandiose visions of reading it all in one year like it’s designed.
Then I would hit a tough spot or what I deemed a boring spot and not get back to it for days, weeks or even months. I would also get to places where I couldn’t get enough and wanted to dig deeper. So again I didn’t get to a “new day” until much later than the date said I should.
As my time in the Old Testament drew closer to coming to an end last week, I wept. I wasn’t sure what it was about at first. A couple of years ago I would have told you it was because I was so grateful to be getting out of it.
But that isn’t the case now. Tears rolled down my cheek as I realized I was only 3 days away from heading into the Gospels. My heart was thrilled to get to one of my favorite parts of the Bible again. That still wasn’t the reason I was teary eyed.
God’s goodness and faithfulness to finish what He started in us hit me like a fresh wave that day. He never gave up on me even though my journey wasn’t perfectly scripted. There were way too many rabbit trails to keep track of and far to many delays to count.
But here I am with tear stained pages in Malachi as I flip into the Gospel. Knowing full well it’s because of God’s tender mercies with me. He wasn’t waiting for me to “get it right” He kept loving and meeting me right where I was each day.
Does anyone else feel like jumping in the air and shouting Hallelujah right now? Because this girl sure does!
I didn’t win any gold stars for getting done on time. I also didn’t lose any gold stars for taking longer than the plan. What I got was time well spent with the Lord.
As I took a deep breath and asked the Holy Spirit to give me fresh insight as I started the Gospel journey again, He did!
Right there in all the genealogy of Jesus it hit me like a ton of soft, feathery bricks!
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth. All listed right there for everyone to see.
These women weren’t perfect and didn’t come from well scripted lives. They didn’t always follow the plan either. Yet their faith to take the next step following God made eternal impacts on generations to come.
That’s my hearts desire right there. To fully grasp that I’m not perfect but I know the One who is! Share on XRegardless of how many times we veer off the plan God is always there loving us back to the call He has on our lives. I don’t know about you but that is some good news friends!!
So go ahead and make the plans. I’m all for them. But let’s not get so focused on the plan that we miss the point. The point is to be with Jesus! When we’re in step with Him the rest of it will fall into place anyway.
I love it when the love of God rushes into my soul! It does absolutely make you want to dance for joy and shout hallelujah! What a beautiful reminder that God is not concerned about the fact that we read the Bible in a certain time frame or certain way….but just that we keep coming back to connect with Him.