Knowing God through His Word — Part 8
Decision, Discipline and Diligence
Getting to know God through His Word takes decision, discipline and diligence.
Decision
Making Scripture a priority in our lives is not a helter-skelter decision to be made hastily; it is a major decision or life choice that aligns us with divine order. God is orderly, His universe is purposeful. According to 1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.
Finding time for Scripture may entail a purposeful reordering our lives. Those with full schedules and those of us (like me) with random minds and a flowing hit or miss approach, might need to seek God intently for help to adjust our gyroscopes to align with His order.
There may be lengthy prayer battles to defeat obstacles. Some of our obstacles may be outside us like work responsibilities, family or peer influence or conflicts of interest. Other obstacles may be inner like laziness, false gods, or self-seeking for religious accomplishment or approval.
If with all our hearts we truly seek God, we will find Him. Jesus promised that
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be open. Luke 11:10
He will draw us to His Word. He will help us overcome all obstacles. He will increase our hunger to know Him and the light and life in His word will support a divine capacity to discipline our straying minds, wills and emotions. Putting Him first eventually clarifies goals, establishes priorities, and multiplies time for writing His word upon our hearts.
Discipline
The compelling love of God is the motive behind all spiritual disciplines. God disciplines those He loves—His love compels Him to. Can we do less than discipline ourselves out of love for Him and others? Some evenings I don’t feel like eating or cooking dinner, but I do it anyway because I love my husband. I want us both to be healthy and energetic and I want our lives together to be orderly.
If we truly loved God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and if we truly surrendered our wills to Him, then our motivation for self-discipline would be stronger and our capacity for self-discipline would be greater. Frankly, I fall short. I do not love enough; my surrender is imperfect. But I do not condemn myself. I keep at it as best I can and trust in His enabling grace for the rest.
Let us encourage one another to grow in love. Let us pray for one another. Let us never give up hope in our seeking. And if we need a fresh start, let us begin now. Today.
Diligence
Be consistent. Growing to know God through His Word is often spiritual warfare. Over the long haul it’s more sustaining to build a habit of a verse a day than try for a marathon every six weeks. But let the Holy Spirit guide you. We are all different; we move through changing seasons in our lives. Each of us must start where we are, identify any obstacles hindering us and with God’s help find effective strategies to overcome them.
As goals and difficulties change, I often write them down to re-evaluate and pray about. Prayer is essential as my goals and my standards are often not the same as God’s. Even when it seems like we are in tune together, I must pray for grace to depend upon Him. He will answer. And remember, the battle is
Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord God of Hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
(Some of these thoughts are from a correspondence course by A.A. Tipon, How to Search the Scriptures, Plano, Texas, 1980. It so inspired me years ago that his encouragement was woven into my own thinking).
