They sure don’t make things like they used to. This week, my fridge popped a circuit. When I reset it, I found that my fridge was giving me a few error codes. After looking them up, I found out it’s likely that there is an ice buildup that is interfering with the fan and causing some issues. This sort of thing has happened before, because I don’t do a good job keeping the dust off the back air flow spot. (I know, so technical..)

Anyway, hopefully, by doing a total defrost of the fridge and freezer, that will solve our problems. Who knows, perhaps the ice maker will even start working again. But to do that defrost, we had to unload the whole fridge and freezer, transferring it to our old fridge that hangs out in the garage (which we’ve never had any issue with ever, except that it is smaller, old, and ugly.)

And, this whole thing is all rather… inconvenient. It’s extra work to focus on, when there are plenty of other things that need my attention. What’s interesting is that the same things can be said about personal devotion time in our lives. Why spend time in your Bible when there are plenty of other things that need your attention?

That’s one of the reasons I have been hesitant to be in my Bible more than I have been. It’s not convenient. It takes time away from focusing on the needs of my children, of my wife, and even of my job. There’s so much to do, how can I justify spending time in God’s Word?

While attending seminary, they do their best to instill in the students there the following priority list: God, Family, Job (in that order). As students, our “job” was learning, taking classes, and doing our homework. But sadly, the book that gathers the most dust for most students during seminary is your Bible (unless you are using it for class). Sadly, taking time to sit quietly to read your Bible, or to spend time in devotion, isn’t a top priory. There’s always plenty of other things to focus on.

Sadly, that reality doesn’t change once you become a pastor. In fact, families often grow, and responsibilities increase, and the habit of being in God’s Word becomes evermore inconvenient. But we would do well to follow the example of Jesus.

Recorded in Luke 5:15-16 it says this, “But now even more the report about him [Jesus] went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.“ (Emphasis mine)

How inconvenient for Jesus’s disciples. How inconvenient for the people waiting to be healed. How inconvenient for the people waiting to hear Jesus speak. Yet, Jesus gives the example for us to follow: that it’s not just okay to inconvenience your day with God’s Word, but that’s it’s necessary. That, by being in God’s Word, you are honoring the priority list of God, Family, Job (in that order).

And though it can feel as inconvenient as defrosting a fridge, it is more necessary, as it helps set your mood and your tone, for approaching the rest of your priority list, honoring God and doing all you do to His glory. Because if we are to shine God’s light in this dark world, we must take time to be in the presence of that light; to be in God’s Word, listening to the light of the world speak to us in our darkness.