Lost in excitement of the NCAA basketball tournaments is the fact that the college baseball season is now in full swing. In past years that meant I was spending many hours on a bus and away from my family. Unfortunately, my daily devotionals usually took a hit during that time of the year too.

One night in the spring of 2008, God called me on it. I relish the opportunity to read to my daughters. My wife and I make it a priority to read at least one Bible story to them each night. One evening, as we finished reading, my oldest daughter noticed me closing the Bible and setting it on the night stand next to her bed. She asked why I closed the Bible, and I told her that we were done reading for the night and that it was time to go to bed. She said, “Daddy, I know but I would like the Bible to stay open. Please don’t close it.”

I left it open and went to my bed thinking about that moment. God uses you, me, and others (many times without us knowing) to accomplish His deeds or to convict someone else who needs convicting. He used my daughter to convict me. My little girl was talking about her Bible, but God was talking to me about my relationship with Him. The message I received from God was, “Don’t shut Me out.”

The world often gets in the way of our lives, and it seems that our relationship with God is one of the first things to suffer. He was telling me not to forget what was truly important: my relationship with Him. I need the Lord (we all do, some of us just don’t want to admit it), and He knows it. He was telling me not to forget Him. In a sense God was saying, “Don’t close My Book or ignore My words, but be open to My will and the things that I have in store for you and your life.”

Today, do yourself a favor. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding,” (Proverbs 3:5) and remember that He has promised to fulfill our hearts’ desires if we delight ourselves in Him (Psalm 37:4). As followers of Christ, we need to be an open book to the call and be ready to do God’s will. Christ yearns to be a part of your life. Don’t shut Him out.