When you’re in a position of having to wait for anything in your life, how do you respond? My husband and I have learned the importance of keeping in touch with the Lord.
While waiting for God to resolve our situation, we started reading the bible together each day, something we’d previously neglected. This time reading God’s Word has become a great blessing. Just how precious it is hit home to me recently, while I was away for several days at a convention. It left a huge hole in my life. We readily got back to our study as soon as I came home.
Our Bible study time usually occurs after dinner unless we have something else happening that night. If so, we move the study to late afternoon, easily managed with a husband now retired. Over the last months we have used a variety of study guides. These include:
‘Discovering God’s Will – a study and meditation on how to experience God’s good plan for you’ by Warren and Ruth Myers published in 1980. I’m not sure if this book, part of the ‘Experiencing God Series,’ is still around. But I have found it a helpful study book that I have returned to several times over the years.
‘John- A Daily Dialogue with God,’ written and edited by Whitney Kuniholm with reflections from Scripture Union. This book has lost its cover so I don’t even know when it was published or by whom, but it has been around a long time. Old it may be, but still valuable for its insights into John’s gospel which I admit is my favorite gospel.
When we finished this study, my husband and I visited our local Christian bookshop. We pounced on three study guides on sale.
These were ‘Images of God,’ 10 studies by Dale and Sandy Larsen – a LifeGuide Bible Study published 2006 by InterVarsity Press
Then we moved onto ‘Daniel –Spiritual Living in a Secular World,’ 12 studies by Douglas Connelly published by InterVarsity in 1986 and rewritten in 2000. As we worked through this study we found ourselves often turning to other Bible passages and Bible commentaries for added information.
The third study ‘The Kingdom of God,’ 10 studies by Greg Jao published 2003 also by InterVarsity Press, we started but have temporarily stopped, electing instead to work through a book I received in my tote bag from the recent Aplha2Omega Literary and Dramatic Arts Convention held recently in Brisbane, Australia.
‘How to Get Your Prayers Answered’ by David R Sweet and Lindy Sweet published 2005 by Abundant life Ministries Network provides thought provoking ideas about the way we pray and what we can expect from God. We’re currently about three quarters of the way through this book.
As well as this daily bible study together, my husband and I each maintain our own personal devotional time each morning where we try to apply what we have learned in the daily readings to our Christian lives. For this we use the reading plan from http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com, the aim of which is to read the bible through in a year. However I find I only read two of the four suggested readings for the day and am happy to cover the entire bible in two years instead of one.
Through the Word of God my husband and I allow God’s Word to change and shape us. This is what I mean by waiting actively. Even if you’re not waiting, these suggestions are good ways to keep you focused on the Lord and His will for you. Please feel free to let me know if you find anything helpful.