Is your alarm set?
I hate it when I can’t sleep at night. I toss and turn. I fluff my pillow. I kick the covers off, then pull them on. I get up and turn the fan on. I toss and turn some more. I get back up and turn the radio down. All these things in an effort to just fall asleep.
I haven’t been able to sleep at night lately. In every effort to fall asleep, I usually find myself staring at the big illuminated numbers on my alarm clock…
2 am. 3 am. 4 am. 5 am. 6 am ….BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Before I know it, the alarm is going off, alerting me that it is time to get up, and I haven’t even fallen asleep yet.
One thing about an alarm is that no matter how much or how little sleep we get, we can trust that our alarm will go off at the exact time that we set it for. We can depend upon it.
Likewise, when we set God’s Word in our heart, we can depend upon It to go off in our minds. We can depend upon it the very moment that we are in need.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
But before we can know it, we have to learn it. I can’t think of one heavy piece of machinery that does not come with instructions. Anyone can try to figure out how to operate it but nobody is really trained, and equipped to operate it until they have read the instructions and then been trained and tested.
Nowadays, we don’t want to take the time to be trained, certainly nobody wants to be tested. Memorizing scripture is something of the past. Most of us don’t even carry a Bible to church anymore. Not with the hi-tech technology at our fingertips. Scripture is posted on the wall or easily looked up on our android phones or ipads. Seems hardly anyone has the need to actually turn the pages of an actual Bible. Scripture is readily at our fingertips. But even so, we don’t use this great technology to be taught, rebuked, corrected or trained.
Having access to scripture is not the same thing as digesting God’s Word. Afterall, in your food pantry, it is convenient to have food on hand, but food on the shelf is very different than food in your stomach. Scripture on the page, or on your iphone, or ipad is NOT the same as scripture in your heart.
When God’s Word is recorded upon our hearts, it becomes part of us. No matter where we go, no depths or heights will keep us from His Word, from His knowledge. This is why the Bible says to “Train up a child and when he or she is old, they will not depart from it.” God wants all of His children to be trained in His ways, when we hide His Word in our heart, it seals it and when the time comes that we feel restless, His Word will be like my alarm clock … His Truth will be illuminated and set to go off at that very moment that it is needed.
Is your spiritual alarm set? BEEP BEEP BEEP
Good post.
You are so right: Access to God’s Word (as easy as it is for us these days) is not the same as digesting. Scripture on the page or iphone is not the same as scripture in our hearts. I recently started memorizing Romans 8–your post gives me greater resolve!
It is so true, Laurie; I often remember a Scripture passage when I am in distress. It is hidden in my heart and I am very thankful for that.