God’s Word: Does It Really Make A Difference In My Life?
“Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 (The Message)
Exercising, eating right, and taking vitamins consistently can be difficult. The demands of a busy life, the powerful effects of physical and mental inertia, and the lack of immediate visible results cause many to eventually give up such strenuous but rewarding activities.
Similarly, reading the Bible can be difficult—let’s be honest for a second! We lead busy lives that threaten to squeeze out time with the Savior Who treasures us; We get distracted by the candy of this world that ruins our appetite for God’s wholesome nutrition; We often don’t see immediate personal results from reading Scripture, or wonder why we continue to commit the same sins after years of studying God’s Word; We are sometimes intimidated by the Bible, passing off to Pastors and “professional Christians” the responsibility of trying to understand and live it out fervently; Or we silently, self-consciously, and “ashamedly” doubt whether reading a 2,000+ year old document really makes any difference at all in our modern, daily lives.
But God wants to help us overcome these normal but imposing obstacles of the spiritual life…if we will let Him! We can consistently attend a healthy local church where people strive to teach the Bible accurately and live it out authentically; We can get consistently connected in a neighborhood small group to hear (and share!) how God uses the Bible to help others overcome the roadblocks of daily life; We can read biographies of imperfect people whom God has used the Bible to help finish strong in this life; And we can ask God everyday to help us make the choice to read, live out, and trust His Word. Will you chew, swallow, eat, & drink the Bible daily, trusting God’s guarantee to use His “Vitamin B” to make you healthy in every way?
“The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart.
It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes
mouthed by pious little church mice.
It does not so much nibble at our shoe as it
cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from bone to bone.
It does not give us answers
fitted to our smaller minded questions but
truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.”
Singer/Songwriter Rich Mullins