I was talking to a parent recently about the trajectory of summer. Kids get out of school in June, and everyone is happy to be together as the schedule can relax a bit. July comes around and maybe you take a vacation or a trip to the shore. By August though, everyone starts getting a little itchy and by the end of the month school can’t start soon enough. If they announced that summer break was going to extend another month there might be riots in the street.
Whether you are a kid, or an adult, comfort is found as you settle back into a known routine. You know what to expect. You know what you’re supposed to do. The best thing about routines is that you can add them to your daily life whenever you choose. You can choose to work out, but to get stronger you need to do it regularly. You can desire to speak another language, but you need to study it regularly. You can grow in your faith, but you need to work on it regularly.
Spending time in the Word has never been easier. You can read or listen to the Bible from your phone. You can find Johnny Cash reading the entire New Testament on YouTube. You have access to sermons and lessons from the greatest pastors and Bible scholars that have ever lived. You just need to add them as a part of your routine. Spending time growing closer to the God that loves you, could become part of your day.
In Matthew 4, the devil is tempting Jesus to throw away his heavenly calling for the trappings of the world. Jesus had been fasting for a long time, so naturally the devil tells him, ““If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” This is something Jesus could have easily done, and we would justify it as okay because he was hungry.
But Jesus replies in verse 4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” It’s easy to miss how much better our lives are when we spend time in the word of God or with the community of Christ.
As you head into the fall, what routines do you need to add to your life? What small steps can you take to feed your hunger for something greater than bread?