Living Word

 I was thinking about certain times in my life when the scriptures I was reading came alive and had a real and immediate effect in my life.  Sometimes something we have read a hundred times suddenly stands up and gets noticed.

Once, as a young mother, I was doing just a routine reading in the evening before bed, and I read Luke 11:13 which says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  Even though I had read my Bible since I was a child, and must have read this verse dozens of time, I had never seen it as it is.  I had only seen it as it is in Matthew 7:11:  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  I thought, "I have never asked for the Holy Spirit!"  So I did, put off the light and went to sleep.  There was no earth-shaking evidence that anything had changed, but the first thing I noticed as early as the next day was that the Bible was much more alive and interesting.  And there were references to the Holy Spirit everywhere that I had just not noticed before.  My spiritual life went quickly from routine and humdrum to alive and exciting.  

Another time, I was sliding into a depression.  Nothing was interesting, I had no desire to see people, everything was kind of grey.  Still, I was doggedly following a "read through the Bible in a year" plan and was in the stimulating book of Leviticus, which was really not helping.  But the Holy Spirit is so sneaky sometimes!  I was reading the instructions regarding oil for the lampstand in the tabernacle, and there was a cross-reference to Philippians 2:15 concerning how we are to live "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."  I read that and my eyes strayed back to verse 14:  "Do all things without grumbling and disputing."  Even though Philippians was not on the schedule for a good long while, the Holy Spirit got me there in a sort of back-door way.  Then He spoke up on the inside of me and said, "That is your problem.  Don't be a grumbler.  Be a praiser."  I began to praise God for things big and small, and have never had a problem with depression since.  Even when my husband and I were dealing with cancer in the same year, and he died, I felt there was always much to be thankful for.

We were given an assignment from the Lord at one time that was too big for us.  All I saw was obstacles and opposition, and fear began to attack me.  I was led to Isaiah 41:10 and 13 which says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand...For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not; I will help you.'"  And a third time in verse 14, He says, "I will help you" along with another "fear not".  I hung onto that and that has been my go-to ever since if I face a fearful situation.

So I just want to encourage you, and me as well, to keep reading His Word with our hearts open.  It's His letter to us, and Hebrews 4:12 says it is "living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword."  It is "a lamp to (our) feet and a light to (our) path" (Psalm 119:105).