Reading God's Word, pt 2

When we read the words of Scripture do we mainly seek wisdom and inspiration for living a better life? That is a good motive but not totally the end of God’s purpose for us.  

God wants his word to not simply improve, inform, or reform us. He wants his word to transform our every thought and action. 

Forty years ago the Lord taught me a vivid lesson in how I should approach his word. At the end of my time in Seminary I was 25 years old and at the crossroads of my life. As a student I had also been involved in pastoral ministry and teaching in the college attached to the Grad school.  As I approached graduation, I thought I had a pretty clear idea of how I could best serve God. I saw myself as a professor – ready to pursue a PhD and become a my passion in Church History and Theology.  

The question in my mind was simply “Where do I go next?”  It wasn't, “Lord, where can I best serve you?”

“My thoughts are not your thoughts” 

As I thought about what to do, I knew God wanted me to pray for guidance and direction. But, to be honest, I wanted to launch out and ask God to bless me.  I wanted the Lord to confirm my plans. I found myself reading from the Book of Isaiah,

Isaiah 55:6-11 (ESV)
⁶  “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near… ⁸  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
⁹  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

I prayed. What was God saying to me and how did he want me to respond?  Do my thoughts – what I think God wants of me, how he wants me to live and serve him – really conform to his thoughts – what he thinks is best for me,  and what his plan is for my life? 

It became clear, I wanted to determine what to do and ask God to bless my plans.  It was not, how can I best serve him and bring him glory?  

Finally one day, I prayed, “Lord, I give you my thoughts, my ways, my plans, my aspirations. I surrender everything, Lord, into your hands. Show me your ways and lead me on your path.”

I remember reading the biography of the martyred missionary, Jim Eliot.  He had been a student with an aspiring career ahead of him and as he sought God for his life’s work, he knew God was calling him to the mission field.  The story is well known – He and three others went to a tribe in the Amazon and were martyred.  BUT, it was not a waste of life.  Jim Eliot’s motto was “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  It became my life’s purpose…Lord, I give my life to you, and will choose to serve you wherever I can.

I began to realize that I was only beginning to learn how to follow the Lord and was a long way from being a mature disciple. I had much to learn about how to conform my thought patterns and way of life to Christ’s word. In fact, I had as much to unlearn – thought patterns and sinful behavior – as to learn. Paul the Apostle summarized it best:

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

If we want to know God’s mind – his thoughts and intentions for our lives – then we must allow his word to not simply inform us but transform us as well. 

How can we turn our thoughts to Christ’s?  A key step is learning how to listen to God as he speaks to us through the words of Scripture. In our daily prayer and reflection, we should allow God’s word to form our minds and change the way we think and live as Disciples of Jesus.

God is bountiful in giving wisdom and understanding from His word as we put it into practice:

Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. 
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. 
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. 
I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 
I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 
I do not turn aside from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 
Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

More on this later...

Peace