Time to Dig In!

I just finished spending a weekend leading worship at our church’s annual women’s retreat.  It was a great time of fellowship with my Christian sisters and focusing on God and his desire for relationship with me.  The theme was “Run After Righteousness”, and the speaker’s thoughts were based on Hebrews 12. 

A recurring thread in what the speaker had to say was the importance of spending as much time as possible in God’s Word, which is something that I have believed for a long time.  It reminded me that only God’s Word will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).  I’ve read many outstanding books that have had a profound effect on my life.  But, the truth is this: everything written by man will lose its ability to influence and will fade away; but God’s Word will never grow old or become useless.  It is applicable to every generation because it is God’s complete written revelation of truth – eternal and unchanging.

The importance of this comes to light when we try to “run after righteousness” – to persevere in our walk of faith and complete the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1).  God’s Word is entirely authoritative for our life of faith.  It is our standard for testing everything else, our safeguard against false teaching, and our source of guidance.  The Bible penetrates a person’s innermost being, revealing who we are and what we are not, cutting through to the core of our moral and spiritual life (Hebrews 4:12). 

I can read a book written by a human and then toss it aside if I want to.  But God’s Word is active in accomplishing God’s purposes and requires us to make decisions.  That’s why it is something that I should always make a priority in my life.  In Isaiah 55:10-11, God tells us that his words never return empty without achieving the purpose that he wants:

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish . . . so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isn’t it encouraging to know that absolutely everything God ever says, from before time began and for all of eternity (and everything in between), has meaning, purpose, and success built into it?  Those are the types of words I can rest my very life on and trust to guide and sustain me.  Time to dig in!