Today when I got home from school I wanted to have some Bible time. My routine is usually that my workout is at 5:00 AM before school and my Bible time is after school (4:00, if I can squeek out of my classroom and get home by then).
Today I felt desperate for some time, and I knew if I went through my usual routine of changing out of my teacher clothes, I'd start my evening chores of first sorting laundry so that first load could get going... then I'd have my Bible time.
Today for some reason (the prompting of the Holy Spirit) I knew I need to walk right to the living room and my "Bible desk" where I've had devotional time, prayer time, reading my Bible time, journaling on all that God has revealed to me. I walked right there (after saying hi to Scott who was in the kitchen). I left my heavy coat on, my skirt on, my tights on. I had only kicked off my loafters in the mudroom.
I read the Psalm I had left off on and the Proverb "of the day" (I usually read the Proverb that matches the day of the month - today I read Proverbs 24 because it is January 24th)
Sometimes my Bible time is short. Sometimes I dive into a topic or study I feel lead to. (Lately I've been studying fear/fear not in scripture)
Today I really felt like God met me right where I needed.
I read, wrote and wrote in my journal, and decided then and there I wanted to share what I was learning at dinner with Scott and the girls.
Proverbs 27:1
The Lord is my light and salvation -
Whom shall I fear or dread?
The Lord is the refuge and stronghold of my life -
of whom shall I be afraid?
(3) though a host encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear,
though a war rise against me, (even now) I will be confident.
(14) Wait and hope for and expect the Lord;
be brave and of good courage
and let your heart be stout and enduring.
I already had dates scribbled next to those verses from years ago. I know that if I dragged out my journals and read those dates and what those verses meant to me on those years ago they would have been different.
But today they really touched my heart (again) and I quickly scribbled down what they did to my heart today.
Sometimes when I am reading a verse and it really touches my heart for a particular reason I use a dictionary (yes the paper kind - since my phone doesn't belong on my Bible desk - and I really love a good dictionary) and look up words to get a deeper meaning. For example:
Stout means - courageous / strong, steady, firm
So God is telling us there that when we wait and hope for and expect the Lord (in times of fear) that we need to be aware of our heart and keep it - tell it to be steady and firm.
Enduring means - to hold up under/ tolerate
Right away (even though I knew what the word enduring meant), looking up that word and reading the definition allowed my eyes to be opened to see that one of my girls has in the past really had to "endure" a lot in a particular situation. I knew right away that I wanted to share with her that her heart was stout and enduring. And in that she was not afraid when she guarded her heart. (God tells us in His word to "guard our heart, for out of it flow the springs of life".)
After my Bible time and just before dinner I typed up the verse and definitions to the words that meant so much to me so that I could share them with my girls.
We talked about them at dinner (my favorite kind of dinner conversation) and later my daughter came up to me and said, "I've really been thinking about that Bible verse and I know that (in a particular situation) God was with my light and salvation. My heart was stout and enduring."
I affirmed that for her and told her that God was going to use that situation for His glory.
Later this evening I found their verses carefully put on their dressers in their bedrooms.
I hope I always am able to give my girls messages I've learned from God and His words.
Proverbs 24:3
Through skillful and Godly wisdom a house (a life, a home, a family) is built, and by understanding it is established (on a sound and good foundation).
Beautiful…thank you for sharing this.
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