Your Daily Devotional for April 26, 2006

April 26, 2006

 

The Delight of Hearing from God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

 2 Timothy 2:15

 

Christians have been given a powerful tool to help us through the struggles of life. We have the opportunity to hold the most versatile and useful instrument ever given to man, the Bible. God's Word is referred to as a two-edged sword. Jeremiah called it a hammer. David referred to the Bible as a light, and Moses called it bread. It is what gives substance and light in a Christian's life.

 

Examining the Word of God, then, is not just duty or drudgery. It's interesting. It's fun. It is what we must have. We must have the Word of God like we must have food, air, and water. Studying the Word is needful to the soul of a growing Christian.

 

When we look into the Bible, we will not grow from just glancing into its pages. The idea is that of stooping down near to something, bending forward, looking closely; it is the examination of something. We are to look intently into the Word of God: not to read it as rapidly as we can, but to look into it and say, "How does this apply to me? What is here for me?"

 

A few years ago, my wife Terri had some problems with her back that placed her in the hospital. When she was lying in that bed and the doctors came in each day, I didn't just want them to flippantly walk in, look at the chart, say hello, and leave. I wanted them to look at her back thoroughly. When they brought the x-rays in and put them up, I wanted them to explain the x-rays to me. I wanted to know what it all meant. I had a great interest in knowing the meaning of all those terms.

 

God wants us to come with an intention to see what He wants us to see from His Word. The Bible is a book to be studied. Take a dictionary in one hand, and a concordance in the other, and dig into the Word of God. Your pastor is not able to be with you five days a week, so part of his job is to whet your appetite. Yes, we are to be fed when we come into the local church, but at some point we must pick up the fork ourselves and learn how to read God's Word.

 

Meditate on the Scriptures. Meditation requires taking the Word of God, and, like a cow chewing her cud, really enjoying it. Get all of the nutrients out of it. Spend time in the Word of God. As the Bible says of His statutes in Psalm 19:11, "Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Why not fill your life with things that are pure, lovely, and of good report? Get the Bible on tape so that you can hear it when you drive; go to a ladies' Bible study or men's prayer.

 

When was the last time significant spiritual change happened in your heart? Are you a living Bible, living out what you've learned, or are you running on empty today? Delight in the Word of God.

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