Live, Breathe, Stay in the Word

If you and I were having coffee together this morning, which is one of my favorite “together” things to do, I would tell you that I write these blogs just as much for my own encouragement as for anyone else’s. It’s therapeutic.

If you walked with me through any given day, you would see that sometimes my imperfections get the best of me! (That’s so human of me…) Maybe you can relate?

Today I would also tell you that, because I see my own need for God’s help, and because there are things in life that I know I cannot deal with on my own — either to overcome the bad, or successfully achieve the good — I must not just read the Bible every day, I need to get in it and lay down and stay there permanently. I need to wear that thing like a bodysuit, eat and drink it for nourishment, breathe it in like life-giving air to my lungs!

Apparently, I need a lot of help…

C.H. Spurgeon says this:

Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, “I will meditate in Thy precepts.”

In her “Finding I Am” Bible study, Lysa TerKeurst says, “When you no longer hear the grinding of wheat for daily bread, it is a sound of desolation.” In the Bible, bread is a symbol of life and prosperity. When things were good and life was full, the sound of millstones grinding wheat started early every morning! But when crops were poor, people were starving, or the city was taken captive by its enemies… the millstones went silent.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” While that’s absolutely true by the world’s standards, for the Jesus-follower, we can’t pour anything of any true value from a cup that’s already full of our own opinions, self-efforts, preconceived notions, or sinful habits. These things are like “empty calories” for the spirit. There’s no nutritional value. This is how we end up in starvation mode, absolutely spiritually famished. We become dull and lifeless, prone to existing just as we are without any spiritual transformation. We’re surviving when we should be thriving.

The truth is that we need to be “washed by the water of the Word,” (Ephesians 5:26). In order to be truly free, we must have our minds renewed, our spirit’s cleansed, and our spiritual bellies filled by the Living Bread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What’s the condition of our millstones today, dear friends? While we are full and prosperous in every way because we are in Christ, our spiritual condition will decline if we are not regularly grinding the “wheat” of God’s Word for daily Bread.

• Jesus said of Himself, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51).
• The Bible also says that Jesus IS the Word of God… “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son.” (John 1:14)
• Again, Jesus says, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.…” (John 15:7-8)

When we are “grinding wheat” for daily bread (reading, digesting, and meditating on the Bible for the purpose of become more like Christ), the Word of God will change our lives because it is Life itself.

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.

Hebrews 4:17

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when I wasn’t able to read the Bible without feelings of hesitation and doubt. I grew up in church and learned to read the Bible often, but for a period of about 5 years, it was like there was a wall between me and the Word. It was frustrating and alarming!

I prayed and prayed for the Lord to renew in me a fresh desire for His Word. One night, He spoke to my heart and said, “If you do not neglect My Word, I will be with you.” And the next thought I had was about reading a Daily Bible with scheduled scripture for each day of the year. I got back into the Word, and over time I found myself reading ahead because I just had to know how the story turned out! No more walls. No more doubt or hesitation. Prayer works, and God is faithful to His children!

The Word is Living and Active… it drew me in and never stopped, and my life has never been the same. I pray it does the same for you.

Praying we trust Him more. Praying we are drawn in by the Word every day, more and more, until our desire for God greatly outweighs even the smallest sacrifice on our part… for the message of His love is in His Word.