Over the past few months, my prayer life has consisted of intense intercession for specific friends and loved ones. They’ve experienced major hardships and sufferings such as becoming a widow before the age of 50; ministry friction due to inappropriate actions; grievous marital issues; and significant health concerns. Truth be known, interceding for others can be heart-wrenching and exhausting.
God’s Word and His presence are my lifeline during such seasons. I find myself like the people in our theme verses for today – hanging on every word that Jesus says. God never fails to speak to me in my times of need. He spotlights nuggets hidden within the verses of the Bible. It’s as if every Scripture or devotional thought I read is centered on what I need for that moment, that day.
However, I wouldn’t find those nuggets if I didn’t spend time in God’s Word. For instance, what nuggets do you see in the Luke passage above? Did you notice that Jesus was teaching daily in the temple? That’s EVERY day – and the people were making time to go and listen to Him. Are you making time for Jesus day after day? Do you hang on to each word He is saying? We can never adequately know how to pray for ourselves or others if we aren’t regularly meeting with Him.
Jesus’ enemies, the ‘religious’ leaders of the day (yes, sad but true), tried to put an end to His life (vs. 47). But they couldn’t. Our enemies will try to destroy us to get at God. But they can’t. His words are inextinguishable. His words are truth. His words are powerful. His words are Life! Do you know them?
Whether you are interceding on someone’s behalf or trudging through your own tough stuff, yearn for God like the deer longs for streams of water (Psalm 42:1). Rise early in the morning to meet with your Lord like the people in Jesus’ day who hurried to the temple first thing in the morning (Luke 21:38). In the distractions of life, be like Mary – stop, sit at Jesus’ feet, and listen to Him (Luke 10:39). Hang on to His every word. He has so much to tell you.
[Digging deeper – Psalms 77:11-12, 119:131; Luke 17:21; John 8:2]
Longing for Him,
Beverly <><
Photo Credit: by Beverly Lussi
When I picture God’s word being a lamp for my feet, my twenty-first century mind imagines a lamp shining a bright path at least ten feet in front of me. However, scripture was not written by a person with a twenty-first century mindset. This passage was written by a person with a first century mindset. Their lamps were very different from ours.
I’ve recently thought about all the “hats” that a mom wears. Wouldn’t it be something if we tried to wear them all at once? Our responsibilities are myriad. As a chef, we don an apron for our cooking role. We put on fashion wear to meet the beauty standards we’re held to. We could carry a children’s book to show how we should be reading to our children, with a robe over the whole mess for the romance we need to put into our marriage. Wait! We also need a checklist and calculator to frugally stay within the household budget. Of course, we can’t forget our workout gear because we need to stay healthy. Let’s also carry a Bible for our daily devotion. I think we may need a few more hands!