Me on Your Mind - a Five-Day Reading Plan by Matthew WestSample

The War that Wages

My wife and I have been reading through the book of Romans with our church small group. Each week, a different couple takes a turn teaching about a chapter and last week was our week. So, Emily and I sat down one morning with the goal of having devotions together and preparing a lesson for the group. I’m not sure how it happened, but we began to disagree while talking about the passage of scripture we had just read. Then, we disagreed about how we should prepare the lesson for the group. Our well-intended quiet time together resulted in a minor argument and both of us walking away from the kitchen table.

Does that scenario sound at all familiar to you? You set out with good intentions to read your Bible or go to church or do anything that will bring you closer to God and then you’re hit with an argument or a distraction, a phone call, a daydream even! I’ve lost count of how many times something has come up to try and deter me from reading my Bible and spending time with God. It’s almost as if the devil is behind all these distractions. Well guess what? He is! It makes me think of the old saying, “If the Devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” He will throw anything at you to keep you from God’s word and time spent in the life changing presence of Jesus. In that same chapter of Romans that my wife and I were assigned to read, Paul writes, “But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me (Romans 7:23).”

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Distractions that try to keep you from reading your Bible? The argument that flares up when trying to have devotions with your spouse? The family fight on the way to church? Satan is working. Satan is trying. But we don’t have to let Satan win. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

The day after our not-so-quiet quiet time, my wife and I sat down again and made a second attempt to read Romans 7 together. Satan didn’t win. We pushed through. We had a great experience reading and praying together and then we brought our lesson to the small group. I shared with the group about our first failed attempt to read together and the whole group began to chime in about how they too fight those same battles when they try to spend time in the Word. Satan is waging war in big and small ways. Stay alert, push through. He won’t win.

DO SOMETHING:

1. What are some of the ways you feel the war waging in your life?
2. Why do you think Satan doesn’t want you to read your Bible?
3. What are some ways you can safeguard your quiet time?