Daily Reading: Proverbs 16
Scripture Focus: Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.(Proverbs 16.20)
Devotional Thought: Do you give thought to the Word? God has given us his book. It is a book of life for us. But we must read it and study it and apply it to our lives. We don’t get the Word through osmosis. Giving thought to the Word requires the investment of time. In the book Soul Feast, author Marjorie Thompson encourages us to approach the Word in an unhurried way, not to master it as much to be mastered by it! Instead of just reading the Word, we have to be willing to allow the Word to “read” us.
An important facet of giving thought to the Word is to have a plan - the what, when, where, and how much. Reading through the Bible on a specific and disciplined schedule is important in order to give you exposure to "the full counsel of God." Otherwise our spiritual understanding will be deficient or lopsided.
Giving thought to the Word also involves interaction with others. Each of us needs to be challenged by what others see in Scripture. We all read the Bible through the lenses of our own prejudices and experiences. Having the perspective of someone else will help you give careful thought to the Bible. Are you in a group which regularly discusses the Bible and applies it to life?
Another way to give thought to the word is to apply it to yourself personally. Someone once wrote: “Read with a vulnerable heart. Expect to be blessed in the reading.” That was the attitude of the Old Testament lad, Samuel, when he heard the voice of the Lord in the temple and said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to give thought to your Word - to invest the necessary time, to seek the wisdom of others, and to apply what I discover to my own life. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 9.13-20
13 Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
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