In the Dark
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- John 8:12
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
You know,it never fails. Life is always changing, many times not for the better. It's tough. I know just about the time I think everything is going really well, I get slammed into a wall with something else. Or, some previous problem or event rears its ugly head once again. Life is not stable. It is never stable.
I like to think that life will someday just be serene. Then I won't have to worry about my kids, grandkids, my mom, my husband, or how much money we have in the bank. One advantage to being 61, however, is that I know better. My life is not ever going to be easy-peasy. It's just not.
Of course God knew this. It's part of the reason He gave us His Word. When the walls are crumbling and the ground us shaking, His Word is right there, standing firm. Sometimes it's the only thing we have to hold on to. In order to hold on to it , we first have to pick it up. And there's where the catch sets in.
As I mentioned before, Beth Moore has started a scripture memorization forWomen on her blog and Facebook page. As I have aged, I'm not great on memorization. I wasn't great at it as a young person for that matter. But I'm really working on this, and there's a reason for it. The way God designed the Scriptures, He did it with an amazing twist in mind. The Scriptures are not just impersonal sets of rules to follow, they are more than that. They are personal...... it could even be considered a conversation between you and God. It's how He speaks to us.
We read in the Bible how our ancestors heard God speaking to them audibly. I have never heard God's voice audibly. But I can guarantee you, time and time again, I have heard His voice through the Word. Sometimes that is all that has carried me through something. That's why I am excited about memorizing scripture with the Beth Moore thing. I choose the scripture, it's personal to me. Has to do with something I'm facing at that particular point in time. By memorizing that scripture, it stays with me. God brings it to my mind when I need it.
Explaining the power of the Word to someone who has not experienced this is very difficult. You know what I mean. I suspect most people who take the time to read this are people who know the power of the way God speaks to us. But how do we convince someone who does not know what we know? This is probably the most frustrating thing to convey.
As usual, when I feel God opening a subject for this blog up to me, much of what I read points in that direction. Some of it I seek, but much of it is 'Directed' to me. I was reading an article by Patricia Ennis, a well known family and consumer scientist. In our society today, diet is all the rage. We are admonished to eat 'pure', to feed our bodies properly, to be sure we don't fill ourselves with junk, but only the best foods for our bodies. She took each area of foods - dairy, protein, fats, sweets, fruits and vegetables, and talked about how they benefit our bodies. Then, she compared that type of food to what we need in our spiritual life that only the Word can provide. For example, grains supply energy....and the Psalms and Proverbs give us "bite-sized" spiritual food that gives spiritual energy.
You can read the whole article here: http://www.lookoutmag.com/combat-cuisine/.
The thing I read that spoke to me the most. however, was one 'Directed' to me. If you are not familiar with Joni Erickson Tada, you should be. Her life story is a miracle only God could orchestrate. I loved what she said in this post. She talked about how she had been a Christian when her neck was broken, but had never really taken the Word seriously. Up until that time, she had turned to the Bible for short bursts of comfort, but it was basically something she turned to when a date didn't work out or there were issues at school. When she became a quadriplegic, however, the entire game was changed. There was no way she felt she could get through this very difficult life ahead of her. She used a mouth stick to flip through the Bible here and there, and once in a while she hit upon an answer to help. She described the help she received as 'sporadic' at best. That's when she began to really STUDY the Bible, through a Precept Ministries format. With Precept studies, you delve into the Bible at great depth, researching themes, cross referencing, making lists, highlighting words. Just like you would study in school for a test. She says this:
"Yes, I could honestly see how my disability was good - it was forcing me to learn about God and His decrees. After more than 47 years of life in a wheelchair, it is clear that the Bible is much more than my how-to manual. It is my meat and drink. My life blood. Deuteronomy 8:3 best describes my relationship with the Word of God:
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger....to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
Yes, God humbled me through quadriplegia, but it caused me to hunger for the precepts of the Lord. And I couldn't be more satisfied. Friend, don't wait for a life-altering injury to drive you to the pages of God's Word. Learn how to dissect and meditate upon the words of the Lord now."
We are all so busy. We satisfy ourselves with a short devotional, a sermon on Sunday, a listen or two to teaching on the radio. But until we get into the Word for ourselves, deeply, and let God speak to us individually through the miraculous power of His word, we are just kind of playing a game. I know I seem to always find time to watch a couple of hours of television, but I don't always find time to do more than a quick 10 minutes in the Word. Hmmmmm.... priorities?
It is no wonder we find ourselves 'in the dark' so much. Being unsettled, looking for answers, misunderstanding and resenting our circumstances. Where do we turn.....how do we get through this......what do we do now? I believe Joni is spot on.....until the Word becomes our "life blood", the games we are playing with scripture just don't cut it. We can't access the light in our lives until we go to the source of the light....the light of the world. And that's done through the Word. So, I think I'll turn the lights up......I don't like the dark.
We read in the Bible how our ancestors heard God speaking to them audibly. I have never heard God's voice audibly. But I can guarantee you, time and time again, I have heard His voice through the Word. Sometimes that is all that has carried me through something. That's why I am excited about memorizing scripture with the Beth Moore thing. I choose the scripture, it's personal to me. Has to do with something I'm facing at that particular point in time. By memorizing that scripture, it stays with me. God brings it to my mind when I need it.
Explaining the power of the Word to someone who has not experienced this is very difficult. You know what I mean. I suspect most people who take the time to read this are people who know the power of the way God speaks to us. But how do we convince someone who does not know what we know? This is probably the most frustrating thing to convey.
As usual, when I feel God opening a subject for this blog up to me, much of what I read points in that direction. Some of it I seek, but much of it is 'Directed' to me. I was reading an article by Patricia Ennis, a well known family and consumer scientist. In our society today, diet is all the rage. We are admonished to eat 'pure', to feed our bodies properly, to be sure we don't fill ourselves with junk, but only the best foods for our bodies. She took each area of foods - dairy, protein, fats, sweets, fruits and vegetables, and talked about how they benefit our bodies. Then, she compared that type of food to what we need in our spiritual life that only the Word can provide. For example, grains supply energy....and the Psalms and Proverbs give us "bite-sized" spiritual food that gives spiritual energy.
You can read the whole article here: http://www.lookoutmag.com/combat-cuisine/.
The thing I read that spoke to me the most. however, was one 'Directed' to me. If you are not familiar with Joni Erickson Tada, you should be. Her life story is a miracle only God could orchestrate. I loved what she said in this post. She talked about how she had been a Christian when her neck was broken, but had never really taken the Word seriously. Up until that time, she had turned to the Bible for short bursts of comfort, but it was basically something she turned to when a date didn't work out or there were issues at school. When she became a quadriplegic, however, the entire game was changed. There was no way she felt she could get through this very difficult life ahead of her. She used a mouth stick to flip through the Bible here and there, and once in a while she hit upon an answer to help. She described the help she received as 'sporadic' at best. That's when she began to really STUDY the Bible, through a Precept Ministries format. With Precept studies, you delve into the Bible at great depth, researching themes, cross referencing, making lists, highlighting words. Just like you would study in school for a test. She says this:
"Yes, I could honestly see how my disability was good - it was forcing me to learn about God and His decrees. After more than 47 years of life in a wheelchair, it is clear that the Bible is much more than my how-to manual. It is my meat and drink. My life blood. Deuteronomy 8:3 best describes my relationship with the Word of God:
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger....to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
Yes, God humbled me through quadriplegia, but it caused me to hunger for the precepts of the Lord. And I couldn't be more satisfied. Friend, don't wait for a life-altering injury to drive you to the pages of God's Word. Learn how to dissect and meditate upon the words of the Lord now."
We are all so busy. We satisfy ourselves with a short devotional, a sermon on Sunday, a listen or two to teaching on the radio. But until we get into the Word for ourselves, deeply, and let God speak to us individually through the miraculous power of His word, we are just kind of playing a game. I know I seem to always find time to watch a couple of hours of television, but I don't always find time to do more than a quick 10 minutes in the Word. Hmmmmm.... priorities?
It is no wonder we find ourselves 'in the dark' so much. Being unsettled, looking for answers, misunderstanding and resenting our circumstances. Where do we turn.....how do we get through this......what do we do now? I believe Joni is spot on.....until the Word becomes our "life blood", the games we are playing with scripture just don't cut it. We can't access the light in our lives until we go to the source of the light....the light of the world. And that's done through the Word. So, I think I'll turn the lights up......I don't like the dark.
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