Enlightenment and Encouragement From Bible Study |
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 I am presently enjoying Bible study with a friend. We “meet” by phone every Sunday night at 6:00. The name of the study in this cycle is “Stuck”. This study examines several emotions, and we discuss how we use God’s Word to see where the Lord is in each one of them so we can move ahead in victory. The chapter for this week is “Fear”. One of the weekly questions is: Who are You Lord? What do You want from me? I answered: You are my Savior You are my provider You are my shelter You want me to trust You You want me to look to You first You want me to know that You will calm all my fears You want me to know that You are all I need What strikes me most about these answers is that they are active, not passive. (saves, provides, shelters, trust, look, know) While the above passage tells me that God is with me and He will strengthen me, God never intended for me to just sit back and wait for His strength to suddenly appear. He wants me to know Him enough through studying His Word, to believe that it will happen. He wants me to know that He cares enough about me to strengthen me when I am too weak with fear, and He wants me to accept this gift and walk in victory. Unlike my salvation, where He asks nothing in return, my daily walk with Him is just that: a walk...it’s active. My favorite Christian author is Watchman Nee. He was a Chinese evangelist who was imprisoned for 20 years for preaching God’s Word. In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, he explains that first we “sit”. We don’t have to do anything for the gift of salvation. Jesus did that for us on the cross. Then we “walk” in our faith alongside Him and lastly, we “stand” against the schemes of the enemy and defend our faith when needed. Father, thank you for giving me so many opportunities to study Your Word and to share what I learn about You. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to actively walk with You. I continue to believe that the key to spiritual growth is to remain teachable and I praise and worship You in the name of Jesus. |