"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:12
"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." John 6:35
"I AM the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open wide thy mouth and I will fill it." Psalm 81:10
During my devotions today, I was asking the Lord that He would open my eyes to what He had for me as I was reading His Word, and I kept thinking about Hebrews 4:12. It's a common and very familiar verse to me, so as I was reading through a devotional on Biblical weight loss, I was wondering why that verse would keep coming to the forefront of my thoughts. I was thoroughly enjoying what I was learning from the devotional and the different Scriptures I looked up to meditate on, so it was kind of bugging me that my thoughts kept drifting to this one familiar verse!
This was rather unusual, so I decided to take a minute and ask the Lord what He wanted to say to me. I can't really remember anything happening like this before. I mean, I couldn't exactly ask the Lord to take away the distraction - seeing it was Scripture! :-) So, I just stopped and said, "Okay, Lord. I'm listening." And then it hit me.
These past few days I've had quite a struggle with food, wanting to eat when I'm not even hungry, feeling deprived, and generally having one big "pity party". In my pathetic state, I was complaining to the Lord that I couldn't seem to go over this little hump and I was asking Him (okay, maybe it fell more into the whining catagory) to give me some verses that I could meditate on and speak over myself when I was tempted. And He did! I found several verses that I knew I'd read before but they have way more significance to me now. But do you think I took the time to thoroughly memorize them and actually quote them to myself during the times of temptation? (That was a rhetorical question, y'all. For you fellow blondes out there, the answer is "no". ) Then, after falling into the temptation (or in some cases -diving in head first with my goggles and flippers on) I'd get all frustrated and wonder what my problem was.
This morning I was reading Scripture that was "jumping off the page" at me. I was soaking in the truth of His Word, and it was like God was giving me an ever-so-gentle reminder. (You know. The kind that hurt across your back side. I've gotten a few from my parents before, too.) He was saying to me, "Honey, My Word is alive and active, and it's the foundation of the path that leads to freedom. Remember? I wrote it down for you in John 8:32, sweetpea. I've given you everything you need for life and godliness! You are more than a conqueror through Me. (That's in Romans 8:37, darling.) So quit your complaining and try a little bit of obedience for once!".
Ouch and glory! Point taken, Lord. Isn't it wonderful that God's Word never gets dull or boring when you're in a time of struggling? I can't tell you how many verses I've read a million time before have come to mean so much more to me over these past 6 months. His Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path as I keep walking down my path to freedom.
So, whatever temptation you're facing today, remember that God's Word is all you need. It's your sword! Don't ever go anywhere without it. You may wind up in a battle you weren't prepared for. (Those don't usually turn out too well.)
And, excuse me please. I've got some memorizing to do. ~Bekah
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