The last few months have been hard. I’ve felt the weight and the tension of everything going on in our nation and have foundmyself feeling sad and anxious because of it. I’m not sure if you’re like me, but when there is a lot of pain going on in theworld it leads to spending more and more time in front of a screen. Sometimes it’s a tv screen watching the news. Sometimes, most of the time, it’s a phone screen where one hopeless swipe leads to another and then another. Quickly, I’msucked into a downward spiral of posts, articles, and videos all telling me how scared to be, how stupid I am and how I should (or shouldn’t) be coping with it all.
IT’S EXHAUSTING.
As I prayed through these things, seeking God many times in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning, I began to feel very convicted. Instead of filling my mind with the living and active Word of God, I was filling it with nothing more than the loud, loud voice of the world. Rather than turning the pages of His Word and receiving life, I was exhausting my mind (and my fingers!) swiping away and receiving nothing more than what it is that this world always has to offer… DEATH.
Today I want to challenge you to pick up your Bible and put down your phone.
Please hear me, I’m not saying that all news broadcasts and social media platforms are bad. I’m simply saying that God’s words are so much better.
Why are His words better?
BECAUSE THEY’RE PURE
In Psalm 12:6 David compares the words of God with those of men. He says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” The proud and lying words of the people then aren’t too different from the words of the world now. What a gift it is to know that we can turn to our Bibles at any time and receive eternal words of humility and truth.
BECAUSE THEY BRING COMFORT
Paul writes in Romans 15:4 that “we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” I love that it says the “comfort of the Scriptures.” What thoughts come to mind when you think of comfort? For me it’s sweatpants, a latte, and a fuzzy blanket in front of our wood burning stove. It’s a feeling of complete peace and tranquility. When I’m cozied up this way,I’m not worrying about all the awful things of the world, I’m calm, I’m living in the moment, and I’m full of joy. God’s word has the same power to bring warmth, peace, and joy into our lives but if we aren’t reading it, we’re missing out on that power.
BECAUSE THEY ARE LIGHT
In Psalm 119 we read in a couple verses that God’s words are light. In verse 105 it says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” We use paths to move forward. Without the word of God, we are left on a dark road, no light to show us where to go. If you feel as if you are wandering through this life perhaps you need some light. God desires to lead you, accept His light by reading His word.
Moving forward in the chapter we read in verse 130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” In this verse we see that the light of God’s word brings understanding. I love that it says it brings understanding to the “simple.” I would consider myself simple. I don’t have a college degree, I don’t have a ton of money, I don’t lead a lavish life… I’m simple. Thankfully, I don’t need any of those things to understand the richness of His word. He lights things up for us to receive understanding and by understanding His word, I begin to understand and see all the situations around me more clearly.
I understand that even though my world seems very out of control, my God is sovereign and will bring all wrongs to right. I understand that he brings justice where there is injustice. I understand He brings unconditional love to me so that I can share that with the world. In the light of the Lord I receive understanding that equips me to deal with ANYTHING that I face.
So today, please consider this challenge. Consider that the peace you’re looking for may be found by opening your Bible (or your Bible app!) and digging into the Word of God. Choose to believe along with me that when we stop scrolling and start studying,God will bring the change this world so desperately needs.
Hi, I’m Brittney Dillon. Wife to Ryan, Mama to four great kiddos, lover of Jesus, and now the Assistant Manager of Content Development here at Worth the Risk. I’m a wanna-be homesteader, a drinker of entirely too much coffee, and a definite girly girl. I have experienced on a deep level the freedom that comes with knowing who you are in Jesus. I pray that you will walk in that same freedom. Let’s let Jesus be the only name by which we define ourselves!
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