Convicted by a Verse

I try to spend some time every morning reading my Bible. There are days when I just don't do it (particularly on Saturdays), and then there are some days when I read through with a mentality of "Let's get this done so I can move on to my next project of the day." Some days I have a stellar quiet time and walk away feeling refreshed and encouraged, and other days I feel like I've just gone through the motions and ten minutes later probably couldn't tell you what I'd read.

This morning, before I turned to my reading, I prayed that my heart and mind would be receptive to whatever God wanted me to learn today. I've prayed that prayer many times before but for whatever reason it had been a while. I wanted to read until God told me to "stop", no matter how long or how short that was.

Well, it didn't take long for God to speak to me. I began reading the 25th Psalm, and was stopped short in verse one:

"To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;" (Psalm 25:1)

The word "you" is what stood out to me, as if written in letters ten inches high. I began to ask myself, how often have I looked elsewhere besides the Lord to minister to my soul? So often when I'm hurting or need to vent or just want someone to talk to, my inclination is to pick up the phone and call a friend. While God can and certainly does use other people in my life to minister to me, He wants me to turn to Him first.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've found my prayers getting a little shorter and a little more formal. For quite a while there I was "letting it all hang out", pouring out my heart to God about everything. I'm not sure why, but lately I've been holding back and doing more sharing of my heart with friends than with God. Today's verse convicted me that I need to first and foremost put my trust in God and be more open with Him once again.

Amazing what one little verse can do to your heart...