Balancing Is Harder Than It Looks

5 hours in the library + 2 packs of notecards + grande pumpkin chai latte = my afternoon

I realized today how much effort I put into studying for tests - outlines, notecards, reading, memorizing, re-reading, taking notes - it's quite a task. I know I probably don't need 2 different outlines, mulitple copies of the same information, and a mass amount of notecards that could have saved quite a few trees. But I do it anyway...why? The only reasoning I can find is that I want to be sure I catch EVERYTHING. I don't want to miss any one piece of information that could be of any significance. Fair enough right? That's just called being diligent. My parents would probably be super proud of me reading this right now.

But I'm not proud of me.

I see how much effort I put into learning, analyzing and comprehending all of the information for my health study classes, but why can't I do that when I read my Bible?

I'm being diligent in my studies, but am I being a diligent disciple?

Occupational Therapy is great, but God is Greater. The anatomy of the human body is interesting, but God is Captivating. So why can't my bed look like this desk during my quiet times...(not literally)

My point is, if something like school can get my attention like this...don't you think I should be giving God that times 10? I should. God is quite an awesome dude. During my 5 hour community health test preparation today, He finds a way to slip a thought like this into my head and convict me about it.

I'm not saying I'm going to BlueLetterBible every single verse I read during my quiet times, but what I am going to do is dive deeper. Read the verses for more than their surface appearance. Knowing the history, context, audience, place, etc. that the scripture was written will expose so much more to its reader, me.

"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds."
- Proverbs 27:23

-It is clear God wants us to be diligent in our callings. But...

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
-Hebrews 11:6

He wants us to diligently seek Him. We can't diligently seek this world and Him with the same amount of effort. He must get more.