You Shall Be Above Only

Psalms 19 : 7 – 14, The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. NKJV

Are you a student of God’s Word? Do you have a deep hunger to get into the Word and learn all that you can about God and about living a holy life before Him? The excuse or complaint that I hear most from Christians concerning a lack of hunger for the Word can be attributed to a lack of understanding. Even though Christians have placed faith in Christ, it doesn’t mean that our hearts are completely open and ready to trust Him to tell us what we should be doing with our lives.

There is a very good explanation as to why people don’t understand God’s Word. Paul teaches us in Romans 7 that the Law of God is spiritual; however, we are carnal or carnally minded. When we were out in the world, our hearts were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We only trusted in our own knowledge and in those things that we understood with the human mind. God is Spirit; He doesn’t speak to our minds, but to our hearts.

Even so, when we come to faith in Christ, it is with the understanding that we have believed in Him with our hearts and not our minds. However, there is a tendency to avoid things that we, humans don’t understand. Nevertheless, when it comes to the Word of God, we must be willing to overcome this stronghold. We have to place importance and value on anything that pertains to our soul’s salvation. Therefore, if you struggle with a lack of hunger because you don’t fully understand the Bible, let me share some truths with you so that you will be encouraged.

Please reread the verses that I shared at the beginning of today’s devotion. You will notice that God’s Word works first in our hearts, and then it renews our minds. A lack of understanding of God’s Word is the result of having the hard heart of a sinner; however, now that you are born again, God will give your heart greater understanding; nonetheless, you must be willing to attend to His Word.  

At this point, in your pursuit of God, you will have to exercise your will. You will have to decide to seek God through His Word, even though you don’t fully comprehend its message. Once you set your heart to read God’s Word, He will open your heart and illuminate your understanding. The truths contained in the Bible will remove and replace everything that sin and Satan planted in our hearts that poisoned our minds and separated us from the life of God.

The greater our hunger grows for the Word, the more God will grant us understanding of it. Some of the greatest “thinkers” of our time were taught the Word of God from childhood. The Bible was once deemed by our Congress as useful in all areas of life and was even taught in our schools. This wisdom from our forefathers gave our nation the ability to lead. However, now that our nation has decided to separate society from God’s Word, we can see the fallout that has resulted. Satan doesn’t want anyone to read or understand God’s Word; it is our victory over him and this world. God said, “My people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge.” They rejected the truth of God’s law. Cultivate a hunger and thirst for God and His Word and watch understanding and victory follow closely behind.

Seeking God and Finding Understanding,
Pastor Asa Dockery