Yesterday I was
thinking about a difficult situation and enlisting the support of
those I know will pray about it. Later that evening I was reading the
Bible and just happened to be in 2 Chronicles 20. The prophecy of
Jahaziel jumped out at me:
“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed... for the battle is not
yours but God’s... You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand
firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your
behalf” (15,17 ESV).
That was
precisely the assurance I needed to hear at that time. But it made me
realize—as often as I read the Bible, and even though I believe it
is all God’s Word, most of the time I don’t really expect to
receive specific answers to my needs here and now. Paul told Timothy,
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2
Timothy 3:16). I’ve usually assumed that meant primarily that
Scripture is useful in establishing general principles for life.
While I’m sure that much is true, who’s to say God can’t use
the Bible to answer specific questions in the modern world? I’m not
going to get into arguments over dispensationalism because I don’t
think any of us understand God well enough to know what He will or
will not do today.
I can think of
other times that God has used a timely piece of Scripture to calm my
fears and remind me that He knows and He cares. Perhaps it’s a bit
presumptuous, but I would like that to become a daily event. I
suspect that my cynicism is a greater hindrance than God’s
willingness. He wants to be known by me far more than I am inclined
to seek Him.
I’ve started
reading Wayne Cordeiro’s The Divine Mentor: Growing Your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior. He
suggests that the Bible is full of mentors eager to teach us what to
do (and not to do) and to encourage us in our journeys. Cordeiro
comments on our need for Scripture:
“Jesus is claiming [in John 15]
that as you remain in Him and His words remain in you, there will be
an obvious activity of the Father flowing through your life. Your
desires become the Father’s desires. Your heart becomes the
Father’s heart. And everyone will be able to see that Father at
work through you... The Father’s main tool for pruning you—and so
helping you to enjoy a deeply satisfying, productive life—is the
Word of God. The devil knows that if he can keep you from the Word,
you’ll simply dry up” (p. 56).
If
nothing else, I hope that reading this book will raise my
expectations of meeting God and hearing from Him in His Word. “Only
by sitting with the Divine Mentor will we ever get to know Him
intimately and become able to recognize the voice of an imposter”
(58).
The
writer of Hebrews stated:
“For the word of God is living and
active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of
soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart” (4:12).
Since
that is the case, I don’t want to read the Bible as if it is merely
a historical narrative or a top ten list of lifestyle suggestions.
It’s not even enough to find faith for salvation and hope for
heaven. I want to encounter the Living God in the Living Word, and I
intend to pursue that to the best of my ability and by the grace of
God. This could be a dangerous endeavor. It’s easy to read a book
and not let it make any impact. (How many of the 166 books I read in
2014 do I even remember?) It will require an investment of time and
energy and even the risk of being disappointed. But it could well
have rewards I haven’t anticipated. I’m certain to find wisdom,
direction, encouragement, nourishment, and greater fruitfulness for
the Kingdom. There’s no telling what else God may decide to do.
“Now to Him
who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and
ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21
