Some years ago a woman consulted with a doctor about her health. She was of a nervous temperament. She gave the physician a list of her symptoms and answered his questions, only to be astonished at his brief prescription at the end. Determining that there was nothing physically wrong with her, he gave this advice. “Go home and read your Bible an hour every day, then come back to me a month from now”. At first, she was inclined to be angry; then she reflected upon what he had recommended, so she decided to go home and do exactly as he had prescribed.
A month later she went back to the doctor a different person. She asked how he knew that was exactly what she needed. “Madam”, he said, “if I were to omit my daily reading of the Bible, I would lose my greatest source of strength and comfort.” We so often overlook the power that resides in the word of God. That power can reside in one’s heart and life. In fact, its power is useless until it enters the heart and life. Otherwise, a Bible has no more power than Webster’s dictionary.
Three essentials of life are air, food and water. Love for the word of God should be as normal for the child of God as breathing. What air does in our lungs for our physical life, the word of God does in sustaining our spiritual life. David declared, “I opened my mouth and panted, for I longed for your commandments”. (Ps. 119:131) As a dying man gasps for air, so a living man should pant for the word of God.
Love for the word of God should be as natural for the child of God as eating. What food does in sustaining physical life, the word of God does in sustaining spiritual life. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. (Matt. 4:4) Just as we desire daily the physical food that tastes so good and keeps us alive, even so the Christian hungers for God’s word and is not satisfied until he gets it. Again, our Lord said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst”. (John 6:35)
Love for the word of God should be as natural for the child of God as thirsting for water. What water does in sustaining physical life, the word of God does in sustaining spiritual life. A psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”. (Ps. 42:1,2) Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, “Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13,14)
How important is the word of God in your life? Can you go for days and even weeks without studying it? The time we spend in Bible reading and study, whether in a class or in private, really tells the story.
-Richard
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