The saying, “Make hay while the sun shines,” is an appropriate reminder for our approach to the Scriptures. When times are good, we ought to store up for ourselves a spiritual repository from which to draw. Sadly, all too often, when the providential sun is shining upon our lives, we are found sunbathing rather than haymaking. In times of peace, we neglect the Word of God and grow fat on the word of the world. We become experts on the finer points of Netflix, Facebook, and YouTube shorts, while the holy Word of God lies covered in dust and cobwebs.

Why is this such a problem? The farmer knows that when it rains, he cannot gather in hay, for the grass must be dry to be processed into hay. He knows that when the sun stops shining, he must rely upon what he has already stored. The same is true for the providences in our lives. When God’s providential sun turns into thick darkness in our life, we must draw upon that which is stored up in our hearts. Sadly, all too often, we neglect to keep our spiritual hay barn full. When times of sorrow, pain, sickness, and death wash over our lives, we look to our repository and discover that there is nothing to draw upon.

The Word of God from which we ought to draw tells us, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.”¹ “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”² “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”³ “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.”⁴

These things are relatively straightforward. We know that we get distracted, and we know what we ought to do. What is the problem? Simply put, we don’t do it! The challenge is, will we do it? The story is told of Alexander Whyte, a powerful preacher, who was preaching on the words, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.”⁵ During the sermon, Whyte looked upon an indifferent congregation who casually ignored the Word being preached. He paused and declared to them, “If you will not have this Book, I’ll shut it and take it away.” Would it bother you if he had? Would your life change if you no longer had the book?

Let me encourage you to be proactive and intentional in your approach to the Word of God. Take up the book and read. Spend time every day making spiritual hay, so that when times of providential drought or rain come, you may have abundant food to draw upon.

1. Joshua 1:8 ↩︎
2. Psalm 1:1-2 ↩︎
3. Colossians 3:16 ↩︎
4. Psalm 37:31 ↩︎
5. Amos 8:11-12 ↩︎