Making time to find a quiet, out-of-the-way spot to sit and read the Bible feeds the hungry heart in ways that no other spiritual activity can. Reading from it and then “digesting” it, as it were, through the activity of careful reflection and prayer nourishes, challenges, and thrills the soul as the Spirit of God moves invisibly within us.
For instance, in Psalm 145, the Scriptures revel in the fact that He “upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down” (v. 14 NIV). I cannot help but notice how timely a promise it is for so many lives with which my own touches. While the promise does NOT say that He will prevent our hurts and griefs in every instance, there is an indomitable strength that comes from knowing that the Holy One hurries to the sides of those who will cast themselves upon His care, although discouragement may stalk us and sorrows assail us.
And what or who else can make such a claim with such surety? There is no other. Creation itself tells the tale of the faithfulness of God as the sun peeks over the horizon each morning with fresh zeal and enthusiasm. Even the stars twinkle in their interstellar agreement that He Who placed them in the heavens sees the hearts and hands of each member of human society, loving in holy mercy the works of His hands – the souls of men, women, and children spread across this globe.
“The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16 NIV).
And how comforting to know that no matter how the orbit of our planet may wobble ever so slightly, reeling perhaps still yet from mankind’s departure from God’s perfect will in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis chapter 3), God has not resigned us to the fateful path that we embarked on in that rebellion, but rolled up His sleeves and moved into motion His great plan of salvation, intent and unstoppable in pursuit of our spiritual healing. In sending His “only, begotten Son” to the Cross, He Himself endured our punishment so that we could, if we would humble ourselves to receive it, become heirs of eternal of life with Him.
How bizarre, then, is it that humanity can continue in its mad pace for achieving nothing at all of any spiritual worth, and fail to note this awesome provision of God? How is it possible that we reject that love? Or, worse yet, mock it by patronizing it with hardly more than a nod if we should choose to wear the trappings of spiritual life and yet not truly have Him as our center for living? Bizarre indeed! For, after all, “the LORD is righteous in all His ways and loving towards all He has made” (Psalm 145:17 NIV).
If we truly would be a “spiritual” people (at least in any way that the Bible would describe it in a positive sense), let us bind our hearts to the pursuit of knowing Him better and set our minds to the task of actualizing His life in us. “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth… One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty; and I will meditate on Your wonderful works” (Psalm 145:4-6 NIV).
And since He is truly “righteous in all His ways”, let our hunger for more than mediocrity propel us to new heights in our walk with Him as we commit our deeds, our thoughts, and even our desires to His keeping, and submit them to His will. Let us disentangle ourselves from the first trap of worldliness which is simply the reverberation of unrighteously pursuing our own ways in crass presumption. As we beat our own drums, so to speak, we deny Him in our vain attempts to redefine morality (and thus imposing our will upon His) or follow our own agenda for life. Such efforts only advertise our inclination to be in charge and lord of our own lives.
But neither let us fall into the second trap of worldliness which is the bad fruit of failing to trust Him. Inasmuch as we refuse to be convinced of either God’s ability to faithfully shepherd us through life, or His willingness to do so, we are spiritual sittings ducks. Unless we “take the plunge” and trust God through obeying His will for us, we can never fully enjoy what it really means to be a child of God.
Let us now immerse ourselves in the amazing assurance that the Bible would render us as we take hold of God’s promises therein. “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. All You have made will praise You, O LORD; Your saints will extol You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom” (Psalm 145:8-12 NIV).
At the end of my life, whether it’s today or seventy years from now, there is no firm foundation upon which I may build my life other than the one sealed with the shedding of the Savior’s blood. Let me not waste my moments seeking security in things that will pass away nor let me squander my opportunity to invest in an eternal inheritance through patterns of selfish living. For we each will ultimately find that there is no kingdom that will endure throughout all eternity other than the one whose King is Jesus.
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations” (Psalm 145:13a NIV).
"Let us disentangle ourselves from the first trap of worldliness which is simply the reverberation of unrighteously pursuing our own ways in crass presumption."AMEN! Though I understood the subject of this message in its entirety and though it has deeply touched my heart, I would like for you to know that it has ALSO been for me an unexpected but firm push to do what I've been needing to do for some time now... to get out, alone, into a quiet place, away from my daily living, and devote those moments of quiet to JUST listening, meditating on the Word, and learning. So thank you, twice even, for sharing this Holy Spirit inspired message.
