I don’t know about you, but I’m in a desperate sort of place. Fading are my illusions of progress and maturity. God help me practice patience today, I prayed this morning. God, forgive my lack of patience today, I prayed tonight.
My little people, my current calling, this winter gloom, my heavy heart, all leave me . . . low. Functioning, but low.
Maybe God is stripping away the self-righteousness that keeps me from clinging to His righteousness alone.
I pray . . .
Jesus, help me die to myself today. Myself, my flesh, is a mess.
Jesus, help me live for your approval, not everyone else’s that I so desperately care about.
Jesus, make me be a slave to your Spirit. Mine is unruly.
Help me.
I used to think that if I studied the Bible enough and knew enough, then that would be enough. And I’m not arguing that I need some new word, some new revelation. What He has already said in His inspired Word is enough for me.
But friends, I still need HIM. I need Him to make His Word make sense and to break through to my stubborn, discontented, struggling heart. I need Him to apply Scripture to this life I live.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
WAIT.
So I keep reading my Bible ploddingly, even when the words fall on a dull heart. I write here, calling to mind those precious words, some planted long ago in Awanas, or a late-night read as a middle schooler, or a women’s Bible study (I remember words but usually not references–I’m terrible with numbers and am a relentless Googler).
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 (Jesus quoting this passage from Deuteronomy 8:3: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”)
Waiting means trusting in the quiet spaces. Waiting means clinging to truth whatever my feelings. Waiting means hoping.
“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” Isaiah 55:2
“LISTEN diligently,” writes Isaiah.
WAIT. LISTEN. Maybe you need to push aside the image of you alone in a quiet room with your Bible, basking in the morning sunlight. That’s wonderful if that’s your reality, but let’s replace that image with one of you in the middle of your own brand of chaos–with a quieted soul. Waiting. Listening.
If you trust in Jesus, you are in relationship with a Person (a three-in-one), not an ideal, not an historical figure, not a mute idol. He loves you so much that He delights to take up residence in you, never to leave again. How would He not want to speak to you as you listen and wait for Him?
He sets the best table. His Word is precious and piercing, like the richest food that fills you with a single bite.
Can I encourage you and myself to keep seeking God in His Word, whatever that looks like in this season of your life? Can I encourage you to settle for nothing less that bread that fills and water that leaves you thirstless?
Here’s a printable coloring page of Matthew 4:4 for you to use! You can download the page HERE (usage below*).
*I’m so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! All artwork and photos are ã Marydean Draws. Please share freely by posting a link back to this blog post. Please don’t repost the actual file. If you share this, you’re awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!
