"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 3

Learn to Know God through His Word

Parents who send their children off to camp, to college, to the armed service, or even into married life, want to know how those children are doing: are you doing your laundry? Are you getting enough to eat? How do you spend your spare time? Letters or emails are read and reread with the hope of gleaning every tidbit offered there.

Parents, in turn, write letters, telling their children what is happening at home, who has done what, asking questions, relaying messages of love and support, of comfort and cheer; reminding them to get enough sleep, to eat the right kinds of food, and to avoid people who might lure them away from their purpose. Occasionally, parents include a little green treasure in case bank balances are running low.

How devastating, how disheartening it would be when going through laundry or helping to unpack suitcases on a child’s return to discover a packet of envelopes, all tied up with a beautiful ribbon, all still sealed and unopened–letters sent from home for encouragement and hope, for making connections and building relationships.

God has sent us His letters: telling us about Himself, what He has done and can do for us; He has revealed His love and support in those letters, His comfort and joy, His peace and hope. He offers us the greatest treasure as He unwraps the gift of Jesus, given unto death for the saving of a world full of greed and malice, of evil and joylessness. In His Word, God unveils Himself through Jesus so that we might know the peace and joy of His love, the strength of His power, the comfort of His grace.

How discouraging it must be for God to look down from heaven and see His beautifully wrapped letters lying unopened on shelves, to watch His children struggle or ache or suffer pain when help and compassion are within reach.

Open your Bibles daily. Seek God there. He wants you to know Him, to rely on Him, to discover His great love for you. It is in Scripture that we learn to know God’s voice. In John 10:14 and 27 Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. ... My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”

How disturbing it would be to hear a child ask when answering a phone call from a parent, “Who is this? Should I know you? I don’t recognize your voice.”

When we know God through His Word, we learn to know His voice. We begin to see His actions in our lives. His blessings, His intervening on our behalf, His surrounding love, His unfailing peace, His unending joy, His utter faithfulness, His forgiveness, all become more evident day by day.

When we know God through His Word, we begin to know His heart. He opens our eyes to see opportunities for talking about Him with others. He lets us recognize places He wants us to go, things He wants us to do for His kingdom, people He wants to touch through us.

Through the power of His Spirit and the Word, God makes us more aware of those who are dying around us without knowing the saving love of their Savior; He makes us more willing and able to tell others of Him. We will begin to know indeed “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)–and to know that purpose is to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) for His kingdom.

Pray: Heavenly Father, instill in me the desire to know You better through Your Word. Through Your Spirit, help me set aside time each day to seek You and know Your face, to discover Your heart for me and for all sinners. Then open my eyes to see the opportunities You set before me to share Your love with others. By Your Spirit, empower my heart to love, my tongue to speak, my hands for service. In Jesus’ name. Amen.