"Thy Word is Truth," Part 2

You’ve Got Mail
Before Amy and I were married, I kept a shoebox filled with dozens of cards, letters, and notes that she had written to me. Some of them were just scraps of paper with something like “love you” scribbled on them. Very often, I would get out that shoebox and re-read those notes, thinking about specific words or phrases—thinking “what did she mean by this?” or “that is really sweet.” I still have many of them. I still re-read them.

The Bible is like that shoebox. It is the message from God to the people he loves. We have a duty to read the Bible and learn its contents. But the Bible is the message of God to the people he loves. We ought to approach it, not like a student, but like a member of the intended audience.

Bible study is not merely a duty or an academic exercise. It’s not the exclusive domain of “professional Christians.” It is the privilege of sons to read the words of their loving father.

In the Bible, God has provided the truth that is needed to see affliction correctly. It fills the gaps in our observation with vital truths and brings everything into alignment with the gravity of heaven.

If times of affliction, you need in-depth knowledge of the truth that God provides in scripture. You need to read it often enough and thoroughly enough for it to correct the distortions and gaps in your perception of reality. You need to have it hidden in your heart so that it can speak back to you in times of trial.

The daily, careful, prayerful, and submitted study of God’s word is essential for every Christian’s spiritual health. In times of trouble, our need to be nourished by God’s word is magnified.

Jesus came, not to the healthy, but to the sick. He came to the brokenhearted and afflicted. The contents of the Bible reflect this. Look at the Psalms, for example. The vast majority of them are written in times of trouble. The Psalms are peppered with words like “ashamed,” “afraid,” and “affliction.” They are filled with the cries of godly men who were suffering greatly, asking for deliverance, help, or just a place to hide. They are filled with the words of faith, as godly men who are suffering praise God for blessings that have not yet come.