Many read the Bible, doing so in different ways, for different
reasons, and with different outcomes.
Before leaving St. Louis, I attended a very good and
diverse women’s study group. More than five denominations were
represented and the ladies had varying familiarity with the Bible. One
lady somewhat boastfully mentioned that she read the entire Bible out loud
every year for more than 25 years.
One morning
during a discussion at the study, an exchange between this woman and another
leading the group led to the yearly reader slamming her Bible shut, making some
short remark and leaving the room in a huff.
I could see how the leader’s handling of the exchange contributed to the
lady’s anger, but I could not see how stomping out of the room and never
returning, even after a few women contacted her, were a Christian's
response to that moment of conflict.
I don’t know what her reasons were for her annual readings; she did know
a lot of Biblical information, but her actions that day and after missed the
mark on the Christian’s call to walk in forgiveness and love.
In my 20s
during a difficult period, a teacher I worked with encouraged me to read the
Bible and underline—how shocking—anything that caught my attention, or spoke to
my heart. That was the beginning of what
would become a more life-changing, faith-building approach to Bible reading,
study and prayer. Seeking Jesus, His
voice, His words of counsel and receiving the hope and faith they can bring carried
me through the months of grief after our second baby died after only 17 days of
life. Also, the stories of faith and the
power of the Holy Spirit brought me to an assurance, an expectation that
trusting in God, I could have another son, a healthy one, and I did.
In 2013, after
years of bouncing around to various specialists and rounds of physical therapy,
I was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder causing spasticity and
weakness in my hips and legs. Medically, there is no treatment or cure, only
attempts to manage the uncomfortable soreness, stiffness and spasms. As I begin this new year, what has sustained
me and given me hope for physical healing in the past remain. These words in Isaiah 40:30 are just a few of
what have fed this hope and expectation of future good: But
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary: and they shall walk and
not faint.
Waiting on God itself implies an expectancy of receiving good from
Him, and so, I wait. Just walking
normally, unassisted and without pain, would be the emergence of the promise in
these words and the faithfulness of God to do the “impossible” as He blesses
His children. May it be so for me and
many others in 2017. Wait
on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart.
