As a little girl, one of my favorite churchy songs was called “Thy Word”. The song quoted Psalm 119:105, singing “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” I could not begin to understand the gravity of the words I sang at that point of my life. To me it was a catchy lyric—something fun to sing. But as I grew out of the song, it became abundantly clear that The Lord was leading me to grow into the lyrics.
Picture the most secluded place you have ever been. A place outside where there is nothing above to shed light on what lies in front of you. Now picture that place filled with traps you are sure to walk into unless some sort of light reveals them to you. Your word is that exact light.
Unless we know God’s word, we cannot make our way through the traps that fill this earth. We cannot truly know how to operate our path unless we have a light to guide us through it. In the last two years, The Lord has opened my eyes to the importance of knowing and studying His word. And here are the ways He has changed my life through increasing my passion for His word.
I have less authority over my life
“Forever, Oh Lord, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” Psalm 119:89
The more I live (which has not even been long), the more I realize how little control I have over my own life. I cannot control anything. I can make decisions, but I am never guaranteed that those decisions will not be interrupted. His word is unchanging. Nothing can every interrupt His words or His promises. That knowledge takes away the worry of tomorrow or whether or not things will go as I have planned because I have something in my hand that is unchanging, every present, and all authoritative.
I have been given peace within impossible situations
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
This year has been my year of relationship challenges. I have lost dear friends to death and to disdain. There has never been a year harder than 2015, and there has never been a year where I feel as if I am more at peace with God’s will. In God’s word, He makes promises of overcoming the world. And HE is the only one who can and will keep those promises. That fact brings insurmountable peace.
I have more love for His people
“We love because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19
The more I read His word, the more I realize how much I do not deserve to be loved by God. I, like so many others in this book, choose to disobey Him daily. I choose to turn my back and misrepresent Him. Yet He loves me regardless. And He placed me in a world full of people in order to display that love. He gave me passion for His word so that I may fall in love with another gift He has provided: His people.
I have more excitement for His coming
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Habakuk 2:14
Perhaps the thing that He has given me most since really beginning my study of His word is an excitement to not only read the words he gave but to see His glory along the face of the earth. That is one theme of scripture that absolutely cannot be ignored. It starts in Genesis and continues through Revelation. This world is broken. It is not in harmony, but there will be a day when it is. And that will be the day when He has come back to reign.
In 2015, I started acting on my passion for God’s word. I started digging into it like I never have before. I started throwing hard questions at it, and searching it for the answers. I do not do it perfectly, and I never will, but what I am doing has changed my life. That’s what I did in 2015, and I can only get better in 2016.
In Every Facet 