I’m really a pretty simple girl. To ‘get’ something, sometimes God has to hit me over the head with it. I can’t really read a detailed instruction sheet on how to put something together. I just don’t process things that way – I’m more of a visual learner.
That’s why I love IKEA. Their instruction sheets have no words – only pictures! So, I love it when God gives formulas in the Bible. I don’t have to be smart to figure out what to do. I don’t have to be a Bible scholar to understand what He’s trying to say.
When I see the word “IF” then I know there’s going to be a “THEN”. “IF” I do a certain thing, “THEN” He will do something else. In Proverbs 2, God uses Solomon to give some pretty clear instructions for living.
Proverbs 2: 1-9 “IF”…
---I accept His words
---Store up His commands within me
---Turn my ear to wisdom
---Apply my heart to understanding
---Call out for insight
---Cry out for understanding
---Look for understanding like it is silver
---Search for it like it is hidden treasure
“THEN”…
---I will understand the fear of the Lord
---I will find the knowledge of God
---I will understand what is right and just and fair
---I will understand the right path to take
“If” is a conditional word. It requires action on my part. The ‘knowledge’ is the easy thing for me. The ‘action’ is a bit harder. Now, I’m not opposed to physical labor. I think everyone should do it once in their life. J But I am lazy. There. I said it. The cat is out of the bag. I am not a slob. My house is clean. I keep my laundry up. But physcial exercise and exertion are not high on my ‘top
One of the most physical things I’ve ever done in my life is go panning for gold out in California. We saw a segment on the Travel Channel a few years ago that talked about the richest river in the country. More gold has come out of this river and creek then any other water source in the nation. They said you could pay a per person fee and go panning with a professional. So, on a cross country road trip, that’s what we did. My family, along with a few other families that heard about the same opportunity, went to the river. It was there that I experienced the most physical exertion of myself that I ever hope to do. For about 5 hours, we dug in a river bank, lugged jugs to sift through the mud and dirt, slueced the dirt, over and over. I can’t tell you how miserable I was from just being cold and dirty…but more than that, my back ached like never before. Hats off to those people long ago who made a living out of pannign for gold. I’ve had my fill of it, and I can scratch that one off my bucket list.
Just like our guide gave us step by step instructions on how to find gold, God gives us clear instructions on how to find His treasure. As I read through the “IF’s”, the one I’m challenged by today is ‘store up His commands within me.” I made a decision to ask Christ to take control of my life at a young age. I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian school my entire life, and I went to a Christina college. I’m thankful for this, now. I was required to memorize a lot of Scripture. At that time, I couldn’t internalize or apply most of it. They were just words to memorize.
But now, the words of Scripture have so much deeper meaning to me. When I read a verse I have memorized in the past, it’s lik e it comes to life. But like I said…I’m lazy. And I’ve let myself rely on my previous memorizations and havn’t been active as of late in ‘storing up His commands within me.’ So, that is what God is saying to me this morning. I love all these “IF” and “THEN”s…they give me clear direction. They can be prayed out to God in request form. But what God is saying to me is that I need to be more active in memorizing new Scripture, not just reviewing Bible verses I’ve already learned. I’m going to start today. How about you? I would love to meet for 15 minutes a week with some of my friends to memorize scripture together. Will you consider doing this with me?
My verse for this week: Proverbs 1:33 Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Oh, and by the way, after the hours of physical labor in searching for gold, yes, we did find some. We have a precious vial of gold, worth about $85. Less than what we paid to try to find it. But it’s something we will cherish as a fmily forever because of the hard work that we put into finding it. Oh, if we only would search for God and His will as hard as we search for earthly treasures!
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com