Yesterday, I opened my Bible to the passage in Hebrews 12 I’m studying with my Bible study group, and I read it a few times before closing my Bible and thinking, “Well, that felt a little pointless.” At 5:30 a.m., my brain was foggy, my thoughts were tangled up with both the events of the day before and the long to-do list in front of me. To be honest, I just wanted to put in my time and move on with my day. I struggled through prayer, sifting through requests and missing most of them. I felt tired and worn and a little frustrated with how fruitless my early morning time with the Lord was turning out to be. I didn’t feel anything, my desire for spiritual growth stunted by disinterest and apathy. I confessed all that to the Lord.
And you know what? He still loves me.
Today, I opened my Bible to the same passage in Hebrews 12, read it a few times, and furiously started scribbling down notes. Every word seemed weighted with meaning. Conviction pierced my heart but with comfort on its heels. How kind of the Lord to expose my sin, scrape away at my selfishness and pride, make me deal with my sin and repent of it. He does not leave us as we are but disciplines us so that we will become like Jesus! What mercy! I confessed to the Lord how much I needed Him. Prayer ran long, joy ran deep. I didn’t want to move on from my time of prayer and study.
And you know what? The Lord loves me exactly the same as He did yesterday.
Here’s the thing about daily disciplines: we don’t do them to earn God’s love or favor. In Christ we already have both. No, we hold fast to daily instruction and time with the Lord so that we’ll be reminded of His love and favor in Christ. We hold fast so that we’ll know Him better which will lead us to love Him more deeply. Over time, His words take effect in our hearts and change us. Sometimes we don’t see it, though. Sometimes we feel discouraged. Some days our hearts will not be engaged. We’ll go through the motions for this reason or that. We struggle to make connections. We fight to stay awake or focused. We’re weak. And we can honestly confess that to the Lord. He knows our hearts and knows we are but dust.
But we don’t quit.
Because even on the days when the words don’t seem to touch our hearts, God is still doing His good work in us. He says His Word doesn’t return void, and He always keeps His promises. You can trust Him to wring something out of those dry, difficult days. You might not see it today or tomorrow or even this side of eternity, but He is doing something good in your daily obedience. He’s making you more like Jesus.
And who can know but Him? Perhaps the laborious reading from yesterday primes our hearts for the cracked-open, heart-hungry reading today. Perhaps the halted, stopped-up prayer time of yesterday prepares us for the intimate, refreshing conversation with God today.
Don’t let a day of plodding prevent you from pressing forward. Little steps, friends. God is transforming you little by little, bit by bit, from one degree of glory to another. You might feel like you have more plodding days than exhilarating ones. But God is working out good things from your plodding. Perseverance. Steadfastness. Faithfulness. Dependency. Trust. Diligence.
He won’t waste your days of plodding.
Even on the days when the words don’t seem to touch our hearts, God is still doing His good work in us. He says His Word doesn’t return void, and He always keeps His promises. Share on X
Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz on Unsplash
Glenna Marshall is married to her pastor, William, and lives in rural Southeast Missouri where she tries and fails to keep up with her two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence (P&R) and Everyday Faithfulness (Crossway), and Memorizing Scripture (Moody). Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
