Keep Reading Forever

One of the coolest things about the Word is that it changes every time you “read” it. The words themselves don’t change, but the prominence of certain ones does. What jumps out and grabs you the first time you view a page is sometimes completely different from what jumped out the last day/week/month/year/decade. That’s why it’s important to nourish yourself with it daily.

It’s crucial to feast on its content even when you don’t feel like it — even if you have “a lot of work to do,” something else seems more interesting, or life’s not going exactly how you want it to.

Make more time for the Word, and the Word will make more time for you. Pray for understanding before you delve in. Commit yourself to receiving its messages, and you will get them when the time is right.

I used to read Psalm 37 for inspiration whenever life got tough and folks would test my patience. I still read it today for the same purpose, but it no longer hits the same. What stands out the most isn’t the fate of the wicked or the things they do to certain people. It’s the fate of the righteous and what they must do when those things happen.

• Trust in יהוה.
• Do good.
• Dwell in the earth.
• Abstain from displeasure.
• Feed on steadfastness.
• Do not fret because of the wicked and their plethora of devices against the poor and needy.
• Rest in יהוה and wait patiently.
• Etc.

You get the picture.

Don’t ever give up on connecting with the Word. What looks like standard text today might transform into life-sustaining spirit tomorrow. Things will highlight themselves according to your individual journey at a time when you’re ready to see them.

I can tell you right now that fretting and not “abstaining from displeasure” were huge stumbling blocks for me in this life. I allowed myself to be displeased about many things, and such was an access point for “strange ideas,” bad feelings, and the like. Your stumbling blocks might be different, but the point is that you’ll get the memo eventually.

I was a literal child the first time I looked at the Word. I went to church every week during those summers because I had no choice. I sincerely enjoyed all the stories they read to us in Bible School but didn’t understand the sermon parts at all. I wanted to learn more, but I didn’t really know what questions to ask.

One day, I opened the pages of my grandfather’s KJV and tried to understand its content when no one was around. I started somewhere in the OT, and FEAR was the very first emotion I felt, lol. Absolute FEAR of יהוה.

It wasn’t until decades later that I understood more about Him, and I’m still learning to this day just like everyone else. I am not opposed to learning and sharing with other people, but I must be vigilant about who I allow into my “energetic field,” so to speak. I am not for everyone, and everyone isn’t for me.

Yesterday was good, and today will be good, too. Every day is good, not because circumstances and people are always good, but because יהוה is always good. He is also in control. Not “they” or “them”, but Him.