READING: Proverbs 30-31
The Word of God really is amazing.
How I wish I had figured out that truth so many years ago as a young believer. It was fascinating to me when I was a baby believer because I had never read the Word before that point. The names of Adam and Eve, Abraham, and even Moses were new to me, and I couldn’t wait to learn more. I may not have understood it all, but I sure did enjoy reading it.
But then my faith became routine for a while. The reading that had been so exciting to me became the norm — something to do just because I was supposed to do it. I read, but sporadically and shallowly. My becoming a pastor changed that pattern, but my reading then became more about doing my job than about being with God through His Word. It was easier to talk about the power of the Word of God than to experience it.
In the last several years, though, the Word has come to life for me again. God has graciously taken me back to my first days as a believer, and I read the scriptures with the passion and joy I had back then. I look forward to the reading; the day is simply incomplete without my time with God. I am reminded day after day of the truth the writer of Proverbs understood: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Prov 30:5).
I can’t fully explain why my passion has returned over the last several years, but I can say that it’s sweet to be there again. God’s Word is perfect. He is my shield. I can take refuge in Him. What else would I want?
ACTION STEPS:
- If your commitment to the Word has been more habit than life-giving, ask God to take you back to earlier days when the Word was alive for you.
- Remain faithful to your reading, trusting God to re-invigorate your reading at some point.
PRAYER: “God, Your Word is flawless. Thank You for being my shield and refuge.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ecclesiastes 1-4