I have such a love for the word of God but it wasn’t always that way. When I was young, going to Sunday School, I was taught the Bible stories – the stories of David, Daniel, Peter, Paul and Silas, Zacchaeus. That’s all they were, stories to keep a child entertained, stories to tell us how God had been but there was no correlation to my daily life.
I learned to love Jesus from a very young age. I realized He died for my sins and that He was no longer dead, but he rose from the grave and went back to heaven. Someday He would return to earth and take those who love Him to heaven. This was exciting to know that someday Jesus would come back for me but what about today.
The answer I heard most often was “pray about it but we just never know what God’s going to do”. I knew the church’s list of rules, the do’s and don’ts. But what about my instruction for everyday life. I floundered.
I remember specifically when I embraced God’s word as the truth and guide for my life. It was like a light went on. I was in a chapel service at college and the chapel speaker made a comment similar to this. “If all you have in this life is a secure knowledge of God’s love for you and the promises of His word, you have everything you need”. Those words, that concept, changed my life. Like I said, I had Jesus as my Savior but I didn’t know that His word had been written for me. All of the promises were mine.
“ I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your feet go out from under you. He Who watches over you will not sleep. 4 Listen, He Who watches over Israel will not close his eyes or sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your safe cover at your right hand. 6 The sun will not hurt you during the day and the moon will not hurt you during the night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all that is sinful. He will watch over your soul. 8 The Lord will watch over your coming and going, now and forever.” Psalm 121 NLV
These are the words I read this morning. My eyes began to tear up and my heart filled with joy. Jesus said that heaven and earth will deteriorate and be demolished but God’s word will stand forever. He will watch over my comings and my goings, now and forever more.
Reading God’s word should be a joy, not a drudgery. You don’t need to read chapters at a time. When you come to a verse that strikes a chord in your heart, stop and read it again. Make it your theme for the day. It’s better to read two or three verses that impact your heart than reading chapters and not having it impact you at all.
“When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.” Jeremiah 15:16 NLT
It’s all you’ll ever need!