Bible – Use Your Sword to Stay Strong – Day 32

Truth:

I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Psalm 119:48-50 (New International Version)

Thought:

Jesus’ words in John 16:33 were not meant to discourage us or say God is ever against those who obey Him. When He told us we’d have trouble in this world, it was a heads up to living in a fallen world.

Since we’ve all experienced trouble, and since we all know there is more seasons of trouble ahead of us, the question becomes “How can we go through trouble and abstain from negativity?”

The answer is to strengthen yourself in the Lord.

This is what David did when his men returned to Ziklag to find their wives and children captured and houses destroyed and the ones who would become David’s “mighty men” spoke openly about stoning him. (1 Samuel 30:6).

Over the next several days we’ll look at various tools you can use to strengthen yourself in the Lord. Today we take a quick look at something most followers of Christ know they must use and very few know how to use effectively or appropriately – the living word of God.

There are three tools to remind you of, that relate to wielding the sword of the Spirit.

1. Let the Bible Read You

There are two big problems when it comes to our use of the Bible. First, we don’t use it. It sits on the shelf and gathers dust.  We are either intimidated to pick it up or bored with it because we think we’ve heard all the stories. In either case, it’s an attitude of the heart we need to repent of. The Bible is our bread. It is the word that gives us life. We can’t afford to not consume it regularly. Once you’ve repented, and in order to help you change your ways, make Bible reading a regular part of your day. We’ve included some Bible reading plans on LifeAbovetheNegativity.com to help you.

But simply reading the Bible is not enough. We can gain knowledge of the Bible, but the Bible tells us “knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). So how do you read the Bible so it has its intended effect on your life?

You let the Bible read you.

This is how you let the Bible read you.

a. Approach with reverence

b. Approach without intention

c. Approach with expectation

Maybe I should explain… please forgive a longer than usual daily encouragement… we’re running out of 40 Days.

Approach with reverence -

I fell in love with history by reading the Bible as a child. I fell more in love with the Bible, the more I studied history. This is an ancient text we amazingly have at our disposal. And it’s more than that – Jesus is called the word made flesh. There was nothing in his appearance that we should be drawn to him (Isaiah 53:2-5) and though He was very God, everyone knew Him as a man. The Bible reflects Christ in this way.  Although 40 different human writers wrote it over 3000 years, it is the very Word of God. So don’t allow your familiarity with the Bible to breed contempt for it. It is a living and active sword.

Approach without intention -

If you read the Bible to prove a point, you’re missing the point. If you read the Bible to say you’ve read it, that’s the only benefit you’ll receive. If you read the Bible to find your next sermon, you’ll miss the treasure God has hidden for you. When you read the Bible, it is a wonderful conversation between you and the Holy Spirit.

Approach with expectation -

Your only intention when you read the Bible should be to hear from God. Expect Him to speak to you from His word and He will. Ask yourself questions about the passage your reading: What did it mean for the first ones who read it? What does it mean for me? How can I apply it in my life? God will interact at your level of expectation.

When you let the Bible read you, you realize you don’t consume it the Bible consumes you.

2. Meditate on the Word

Christian meditation is dramatically different from eastern meditation. The goal of eastern meditation is to empty oneself. The purpose of Christian meditation is to fill you up.

If you don’t know what that means, but you do know how to worry, then you already know how to meditate on Scripture. When we worry we think over and over and over about fears.  When we meditate we think over and over and over about faith. Think about what the Scripture meant at the moment. Think about what it meant in the immediate context. Think about what it meant in the context of history. Think about what it meant in the context of church history. Think about what it meant for you in the past. Think about what it could mean for you in the future. Think about a picture you saw or can imagine that depicts its truth. Think about what it means for others. Think about how you could sing it. Think about how you could pray it. Commit the passage to memory.  Meditation is like a cow chewing its cud. I hope you can see why.

3.Praying the Bible

In the course of these 40 Days, we’ve gone over how to pray the Psalms. It’s a great prayer book for us to pour out our laments to God and remember to praise Him in the middle of all kinds of trouble. To strengthen yourself in the Lord, I definitely recommend the Psalms.

But the Bible gives us vocabulary for every situation we face. Don’t limit yourself to the Psalms. When you pray the Bible, you pray with authority because you know you’re praying the will of God. When you pray according to His will, you know He hears you and you know you’ll have what you’ve asked of Him.

My only warning here is to remind you to pray not only the words of the Bible, but the context of those words. And you’ll only know the context as you spend the time reading the word.

When you need to strengthen yourself in the Lord, or if you need to keep your strength in the Lord, read, meditate and pray the Bible.

Prayer:

Lord, You’ve given me Your word so I can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Thank You it is able to teach, rebuke, correct and train me. Holy Spirit empowers me to ensure that happens. I know that the Word of God renews my mind so that I’m able to test and approve what the good, pleasing and perfect will of God is. Forgive my lack of discipline. Help me to be consumed by Your word.

Challenge:

It’s not bad to have good habits but don’t let habits create familiarity and familiarity breed contempt for the word of God. As you read the Bible today expect it to become alive to you.

Declaration:

I choose not to be discouraged. I choose to look to God instead of my circumstance. I choose to strengthen myself in the Lord.

I’m Trevor Lund, a Christian Writer Christian Speaker and Lead Dreamer for Expectancy Ministries. My passion is imparting hope and empowering destiny in others. Get resources for fasting for negativity from www.LifeAbovetheNegativity.com
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