Laging Handa

“Laging Handa”– a catchy phrase that I’ve learned while I was a girl scout. I never thought that it is also important in our walk with God.

There are times that I can go outside our house without reading my Bible or having a quiet time with God. I can say that there’s a drastic difference on my response to any situation when I read and have a genuine time with God before I start my day. But even though I’ve noticed the differences, I still chose to take it (quiet time) for granted.

I have a struggle with self-control. But instead of lifting my struggle to God, I chose to stay mum because I enjoyed the things I do like binge watching Youtube videos. I’ve realized it is hard to give up the things we love even if it causes us no good.

Not until this day.

We had a leaders convergence today in our local church. Note that I didn’t have a quiet time with God early this morning. I just went on my day being spiritually hungry. The pastor asked us to find a partner and pray for them. I found someone that I haven’t met before and she asked me what my prayer request are and I did asked her the same question. She told me that she’s praying for “self-control” and “patience” for the people she disciples. And then, we prayed for each other. I’ve noticed that she cried after I prayed for her but I didn’t bother to ask why. Later when I went home, I chose to read my daily devotionals for this day. And BOOM, the verses presented on the passage was fit for her prayer request.

God confronted me with something.

I could have share that verse to her only if I had my quiet time earlier this morning. That might just be the verse she needed. The verse that might make her realize something and the words that God wanted to tell her. But because I wasn’t ready, I didn’t have the chance to deliver it to her. That’s why God commanded Joshua to meditate on the Bible day and night (Joshua 1:8). Bible, for some people, stands for Basic Instruction Before Living Earth. We need to be ready, equipping our minds and hearts with the Scripture every time.

There are many reasons why we don’t read the Bible. And some of it are:

We are over-familiar with the Word of God

Sometimes, we think we know everything especially with the word of God that’s why we take our quiet time for granted. But no matter how many times you have finished reading the Bible you can never know everything. In fact, you can never know anything not unless God reveals something to you. How much of the Bible really sinks in to your heart? It’s not about how much you know but its about how much you obey. That’s why God told us not to lean in our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) because we can never know everything. God is the all-knowing One, not us.

The issue of self-control is actually the issue of the heart

Where you put most of your time, energy and money is actually the “god” of your heart. We spend most of our time on the things we love.What occupies your mind the most indicates your priority. May it be to our partner, family, friends, gadget, etc. The reason why it is hard for us to read the Bible is because we never really love God enough. And if you’re going through a difficulty in your prayer life and bible-reading time, maybe it is time to have a “heart-check” and ask ourselves what is our utmost priority.

 

We read the Bible because we need to be ready on what lies ahead. We are always surrounded by lies and if we don’t know the truth, we tend to believe what is not true. We are warriors. We need a weapon in this spiritual warfare. The reason why Jesus survived the temptations and the lies of the enemy while He was fasting is because He knows about God’s word and the Holy Spirit was with Him. Everyday, when we do our quiet time, we should always ask the Holy Spirit for guidance all throughout the day.

We are warriors. We don’t fight with just sticks and stones. We fight the good fight of faith. We should be equipped and ready.