Soul Maintenance
By Drenda Keesee
We live in a world of fast-paced, instant gratification. We’ve lost the critical ability to discern our wants from our needs. No matter how much time we spend on social media trying to “connect,” no matter how many material possessions we acquire, we thirst for something more.
We need real answers.
So often I hear people talk about wanting to study the Word of God more. They often find their busy schedules shortcut their time with God. You can go without water for a day, but eventually you’ll die of thirst. And unfortunately, many Christians are dying of spiritual thirst every single day. They’re dragging themselves through life with no passion, desire, or grace.
I want to encourage you to refocus your energy and step into God’s Word. Submit your thoughts to Him. God will renew your mind and help you ride those waves of circumstance with a smile on your face and peace in your heart. The key to discovering peace depends on your ability to see you and your life through God’s perspective.
Three Simple Steps for Making Spiritual Nourishment a Priority:
1. Scheduling time
Setting a date and time for your Bible study is essential. Most of us commit to social activities all of the time; doesn’t God deserve the same commitment? When you schedule a time, remember, you are making a date with God. Honor it! When you put it on your calendar, treat it like you would treat any other commitment. Tip: Try and do it at the same time each day. Routine is the foundation for success.
2. Creating a good study space
Most successful students have a designated workspace, good lighting, and a quiet environment. These are very useful practices to implement in your Bible study.
- Declutter your spiritual space. It is much easier to get studying done when you are not surrounded by mountains of paperwork, glasses, and knickknacks. If your Bible study area is starting to look too much like the floor of your teenager’s room, take a few minutes to tidy up so you won’t be as distracted.
- Get creative! Put encouraging Bible verses on the wall that correspond to what you are going through.
3. Letting prayer guide you
Intention is everything. It’s important to know what you hope to get out of your Bible study time. Are you seeking greater biblical knowledge, insight for personal healing, or a more intimate relationship with God?
Pray about your intentions before you begin your Bible study and when you are finished. Before you begin, quiet your mind and ask God to guide you, teach you, and provide wisdom in those areas you are seeking.
Bible study is a private lesson with God. How awesome is that! Every day you open your Bible, you are closer to seeing God’s promises unfold in your life and discovering what God has called you to do.
Prayer: God, please grant me the will to get focused and organized, so I can get into Your Word daily. I know that when I read your words and when I speak them into my environment, amazing things happen. When I get “too busy” to be in Your presence, call to me and remind me of all of the blessings you have given me and how much you love to hear from me. Amen.
~Drenda
Listen in Now to Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
