A Hunger for God in a Busy Season - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - January 14, 2026
“You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:4-6, NIV).
Slow mornings reading my Bible are absolutely heavenly, yet they have been scarce for such a long time for me. I could give a million excuses as to why…life with littles who don’t sleep through the night is a major one. I mean, I think I have lived with interrupted/broken sleep since before my second son was born almost eight years ago…so…yeah, that’s a long time of mental fog!
But the Lord gives such grace to us mamas in this season. He stirs our hearts to continue to pursue seeking Him, even when we feel like we have so little of ourselves (and our minds) to give to Him. We see that one of the reasons we can receive this grace is that we turn away from worldly distractions and are willing to admit our weaknesses and our need for God. Scripture tells us that God gives grace to the humble when we seek Him instead of things of the world:
“You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:4-6, NIV).
I’m learning to stop lamenting over time lost in my pursuit of knowing God. Instead, I repent for finding pleasure in lesser things and allowing those things to distract me from one of the most essential pursuits a Christian can have- seeking to obtain knowledge of who God is.
I have been living off of morsels and scraps for far too long. Although the Lord has sustained me this whole time and grown me in ways I cannot fully explain these last few years, I’m finding that the bite-sized devotion and communion with the Lord will not be enough in what God is calling me to in the days ahead- whatever that may be.
I don’t know why I sense this urgency all of a sudden…perhaps what is going on around us in the world is creating this need to keep my eyes on the eternal more than ever before. Still, I don’t want to waste another moment giving my worship to anyone or anything other than God Almighty.
Do you feel this urgency to gain knowledge of the Holy One as well? If not, pray that the Lord would stir your heart and affections for that pursuit of Him to be ignited in your soul. Ask Him to help turn your eyes from lesser things and into His wonderful face. He alone is worthy of our devotion and heart.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”
If you are weary and your flesh wants to look to things of this world to fill your life and mind with, you must resist that temptation and run to Jesus and His word. The things of this world will never satisfy or strengthen you when you are feeling weak. We must repent for fixing our gaze on lesser things. What are those “lesser things” that are a distraction for you? Ask the Lord for the grace to give you a hunger to seek Him and know Him in a deeper way by spending time studying the scriptures and praying daily. He is worthy of all of your affection and devotion. It may feel like you are failing in your spiritual disciplines because you cannot devote as much time to the Lord as you would like to in this season. Perhaps, instead of using “time” as the measuring rod of our spiritual disciplines (whether the amount or the time of day it happens), we need to focus on the consistency of our reaching for Christ. Are you reaching for Christ every day? Do you desire to know Him more and grow in His likeness?
So often, we see our failure of “missing days” of a certain amount of time in the world and give in to despair and stop seeking, stop reaching for Him. Soon enough, we give our focus (and heart) to lesser things or activities, responsibilities, or people that seem to be a more convenient or effortless devotion for us. The same can be said about prayer, discipleship, evangelism, or serving as well. I want to encourage us, moms, in the middle of these often strenuous and exhausting child-rearing days, to keep reaching for Christ!
Ask the Lord to guard your heart from discouragement and despair if your daily devotional time with Him is minimal or lacking in this season. His grace will empower you to daily lift your eyes to Him…where your perfect help comes from. May He stir your affections for growing in spiritual disciplines, and little by little, day by day, you, by God’s grace and the power of the Spirit, will see the consistency of your devotion flourish and strengthen!
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/ChristianChan
Related Resource: Instead of Doing More This Summer, Maybe You Need to Do Less
If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
