Half the Day

3 min read

1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.
— Nehemiah 9:1-3

This gathering was not something that was commanded in the Books of Moses. And yet the Israelites felt compelled to gather anyway to hear God’s word, to confess their sins, and worship the LORD.

Whenever we hear the word of God and take to heart the things that God reveals to us, we come to recognize how we continually fall short of His glory.

And our sins don’t happen out of nowhere. They are in a continuum of rebellion against God that gets ingrained into our culture and lifestyle. Cultural sins become generational sins that lead each generation further and further away from God. When we recognize these cultural-generational sins, the natural response is to confess and repent as a community.

Understanding how much and how often we fall short and understanding how much and how often God is patient with us is what prompts the fear of the Lord. And if fear of the Lord leads to wisdom, then fear of the Lord also leads to worship.

God doesn’t demand that we spend half of our days studying His word, confessing and repenting, and worshiping Him. But if we would just spend some of our days walking with Him, how much more blessed would our lives be?

Father, You are so good and kind to us. We fall down, and You lift us up. When we turn to You, You always lift us up. Thank You for Your kindness, gentleness, and patience. May it lead me to repentance every day. In Jesus’s name. Amen.