Not a Hobby By Cortney Donelson

Source: www.wallpaper4god.com

Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

It’s time to come clean.

I am a serial hobbyist.

I take pleasure in hobbies so much that I try a new one out every couple of years. In my youth, I played the piano and tried my hat at dancing and synchronized swimming. My favorite childhood hobbies were gymnastics, softball, and finally tennis in high school and college. When injury prevented me from continuing with tennis, I picked up golf. There was the stint with boxing – I even secured my own heavy bag, gloves, speed bag, and private lessons. That hobby lasted a couple of months. I have also had short stretches of infatuation with acoustic guitar, cycling, P90X, and kayaking – although I plan to try guitar lessons again when my kids are full time students. Currently, I have my eye on stand-up paddle boarding.

As I list all this out, I have to laugh. The laughter soon turns to conviction. Is there a soul hole I am trying to fill with all these hobbies? Why don’t they last? I am not sure I have the answers yet.

Thankfully, regardless of what I do to fill my hours, there has been one unvarying source of fulfillment.  The object of my continuous love and attention since my junior year of college when He called my name and rescued me from myself and this world’s pitfalls and loneliness is Jesus. With each erratic twist and turn of life I have felt Him by my side. In fact, the moment I gave my life over to Christ, I did not find just another passing fancy to fill my time or any misguided need for success – I found something eternal.

Every spiritual journey has ups and downs, times when our commitment to follow Jesus and build our relationship with Him waxes and wanes. Yet, through every one of my lows, Jesus never gave up on me. I may have turned from Him for months at a time, foolishly trying to do life on my own, but those relational lapses of mine never changed how He felt about me. He continued to pursue me. It’s what He does. In fact, I guarantee you that He is pursuing you too.

Jesus called me back to Him with His Father’s Word first and foremost. As a new – and even seasoned believer – reading the Bible was a challenge. I wondered if I was doing something wrong. I just could not understand much of what I read. Several sections even bored me. Gasp! And, having the ability to apply it to my life? Well, that was beyond my capabilities.

However, as I grew in my relationship with Jesus through trust and prayer, God’s Word became alive. With each passing year, more and more passages started to make sense. Messages jumped off the page and into my walled-off heart. During Bible studies, God spoke to me through the stories of the characters, and I began to relate with many of them.

So, despite the initial challenges, I persevered. I kept at it until finally I reached a turning point. Now when I pick up my Bible there is anticipation about what I will find within its pages. Beth Moore once told a filled-to-capacity stadium that her Bible is the sole thing she cannot go one day without. It was not her husband, a morning cup of coffee, or her work inspiring others for God’s glory. It was God’s written Word. I was moved that day in that hot stadium, and I prayed I would reach that kind of love for the Bible. I am getting there – oh so close! 

During one horrific season in my life, when my world was crashing down around me, all I could do was open the pages of His Word and soak in His promises. Nothing else mattered – not food, not sleep … certainly not any of my hobbies. God’s Word saved me from the depths of despair, from the loss of all hope, and from making huge mistakes when my flesh screamed at me to give up. I surrendered all right – I surrendered to the command given in Scripture: Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Our “Book of the Law” is the Bible. I don’t know about you, but I could use some blessed prosperity and God-ordained success. And, during that difficult time in my life, I found both in the pages of my Bible.

I know as I delve into new hobbies and others fall by the wayside, there is one thing that will remain. There is one obsession that will never dim and that is soaking in God’s Word. This relationship with Jesus that is fueled by God’s Written Word – this life-changing, power-supplying, always thrilling, and death-defying relationship – is certainly no temporary diversion. It’s my life. It’s who I am. And, I could not be who I am without meditating and acting upon the divinely inspired scriptures of the Bible.

Matthew 4:4 (NLT)

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Prayer –Thank You, Father God, for Your Word. It is absolutely alive and sharpens my faith and my hope on a daily basis. Thank You for the promises, commands, mercies, and love that pour out of the Bible as we sit with You.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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