There Is A Difference

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.” [Ezekiel 3.10-11]

There is a difference.

How many times do we go off 'half-cocked' without allowing God's Word to saturate our lives first? I can only answer accurately for myself, but the answer is embarrassingly easy: "most of the time."

Far too often I respond to situations "based on the Word" but without being 'basted' in the Word. It is far too easy to quote scriptures from the mouth and the mind without having absorbed them first into the heart.

No matter what we think we are saying on the outside, it will be what is in the heart that is transmitted through our words. Right words from the mouth cannot overcome the damage delivered from a wrong heart. In other words, a wrong heart will taint and spoil even right words rendering them useless.

It takes time to let all God's Word sink deep into our own hearts. In our 'microwave society' we are ill-adapted to patiently allowing God's Word to change our hearts. Instead, we look at the Bible as a book of sayings to be chanted - much like a witch's book of incantations to make or break a spell. We waste far too much time seeking the right scripture phrase to chant to match our situation instead of allowing ALL God's Word to penetrate our being - saturating even our hearts - so that scriptural responses are not canned memorization, but rather genuine heart conviction. There is a difference.

This is where we must all be wary of all the 'study aids' available for the Bible. There is no such thing as a quick scriptural fix and we should avoid any and everything that suggests otherwise. There is simply no replacement for dedicated time and meditation on God's Word. It is impossible to hurriedly 'wait upon the LORD."

'Circumstantial' Bible study is powerless. But a daily lifestyle of allowing God's Word to penetrate and saturate our being - our hearts - is where God's power will manifest. Then, instead of us having to hunt up scriptures to combat our circumstance, we will be prepared with a life of scripture to respond to every circumstance in heart-centered faith rather than reacting to every circumstance in mind-centered fear. Again, there is a difference.

What's more, once our hearts are saturated with God's Word, the outcome of our circumstances is irrelevant. That's what God told Ezekiel, "Do this whether they listen to you or not." Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Their confidence in God went beyond their circumstances. They did not need to roll their eyes back in their heads and chant scriptures at Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, they boldly declared their faith - that they would not bow - whether they lived or died. You see, their circumstance did not matter because their hearts were saturated with God's Word. Yes, there is a difference.

Father, I want Your Word in my heart. I want to seek Your Kingdom FIRST. I want to give You the most valuable resource I have - my time. Be glorified in me.