“Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth” Psalm 78:1.
When I was a little girl, only 6 weeks old, I do believe a love for the Bible started while laying in a crib. This photo was captured by a photographer at Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, MS, and was taken because the church nursery was in the spotlight that week. It was a picture to demonstrate just how even little newborns can be introduced to God and His Word. Seeing the colorful pictures, hearing the bible stories at such a young age …well, as we always say “Seeds were planted.”
Today, at 47 years of age, I can tell you that the love God has enabled me to have for His Word, my precious Bible, has only grown…grown through troubled times, times of feeling completely afraid and times of feeling nothing by elated joy! Grown through pain that I felt would never go away, and through having hope that became rooted in me with every verse of Scripture. God’s Word has broken me, molded me, repaired, instructed, rebuked, corrected, and has held me through years of walking with Him. But a few things God’s Word has never done is …. condemn me, judge me, reject me or break a single promise. It has never disappointed me, misdirected or mishandled me in any way.
God’s Word literally breathes life into every fiber of my being. With each black word on white paper, I see my Lord. Through each use of commas and punctuation marks, I hear His heart beat. There’s not a single portion of His Holy Bible that isn’t LIFE to me!! Verses like, “Show me Your ways, O Lord. Teach me in Your truths. Guide me Your paths and teach me for you are my Lord and Savior and my hope is in You all day long.” Ps. 25:4-5…draw me in to understanding even MORE of what God wants for me. He desires that I know His ways, that I learn His truths, and that I walk on His paths for my life. Now, how incredibly intimate…how so deeply personal….and how plum sweet is that?
Today I just want encourage you in this way…
No matter what all is on your to-do list today, no matter who needs you and when, and no matter how high and deep your responsibilities may be, FIRST go to the Love of the Word of God. Will you meet with Jesus today, by sitting with Him somewhere quietly to open your bible and read it. Let it read you. And let it’s preserving and protecting power speak life right into your mind, your heart, your soul and your spirit. As Charles Spurgeon said:
In my Bible, everywhere, I find God speaking; it is God’s voice, not man’s; the words are God’s words, the words of the Eternal, the Invisible, the Almighty, the Jehovah of this earth. This Bible is God’s Bible, and when I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it, saying, “I am the book of God; man, read me. I am God’s writing; open my leaf, for I was penned by God; read it, for he is my author, and you will see him visible and manifest everywhere.”
Just for today, hug y’all, literally hug your Bibles! Hold it close to your heart and then open it’s pages and read it. Thank Him for every word, and ask Him to speak to you though it. And then…do it all again tomorrow!
