“Your Word is lamp
unto my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)
The more years I spend on this earth the more I have come to appreciate
the value of regular and consistent times in God’s Word. By this I don’t mean a verse-a-day, or a quick
glimpse at a selection of verses, but times of meditative reading allowing your
mind and heart to marinate in God’s grace.
The value of being in Scripture cannot be minimized. The Westminster
Confession of Faith reminds us that although God reveals himself in nature and
the works of creation, they alone are “not sufficient to give that knowledge of
God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore, it pleased
the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to
declare his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and
propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of
the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of
the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the Holy
Scripture to be most necessary…” (1:1).
The authors of the Confession
understand that not only was Scripture necessary to understand God’s will, but
an essential means of grace in our fight against the sin of the world, the sin
within us, and the schemes of our “adversary the devil [who] prowls around like
a lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). When we neglect personal time in God’s Word
we are setting ourselves up for an attack. It is like staggering down a dark
path in heart of the Serengeti with no light.
The light not only reveals, but it protects.
Martin Luther vividly explains it this way, “Satan is by nature such a
wicked and poisonous spirit that he cannot tolerate anything that is good. It pains him that even an apple, a cherry,
and the like grow. It causes him pain
and grief that a single healthy person should live upon the earth and if God
would not restrain him, he would hurl everything together in ruin. But to nothing is he a more bitter enemy than
to the dear Word; because, while he can conceal himself under all creatures,
the Word is the only agency that can disclose him and reveal to everybody how
black he is. Since then, you have God’s
Word, Peter says, and you cleave by faith to it, you should know beforehand
that Satan will be your enemy; and you should know that he is not only a wise,
cunning, but also a very wicked, poisonous, and powerful spirit.”[1]
I believe it was D.L. Moody who said, “The Bible will keep you from sin,
or sin will keep you from the Bible.” Though
I whole heartedly agree with this statement, I would like to modify it slightly
with this, “The Bible will keep you from sin, the devil knows it, and wants to
keep you from the Bible.” May I
encourage you to spend more time in God’s Word?
Not only is it the most effective guard against the devil, but as David
discovered, storing it in our heart and delighting in it (119:16) has great
benefit, including keeping us from sin (119:11), guarding our ways
(119:9), giving us life (119:25,107),
strengthening us (119:28), being our hope (119:74,81,114, 147), giving
understanding (119:130,169), and so much more!
If you are not in God’s Word not only are you setting yourself up to
schemes of the devil, but you are missing out on a whole lot of grace.
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