How Does God’s Word Speak to You?

As followers of Jesus, we believe that God’s Word speaks. But how? And when we hear it, what do we do?

For us to understand the Bible, we must believe it is inspired by God. It is the breathed-out word of God. We must also perfect our listening skills to hear him speak through his word. It is important to realize that God speaks through all of his word.

Some parts of the Bible are easy to understand and apply to our lives. The commandment: You shall not kill, is easy enough to understand and apply. There are hundreds of simple instructions for us to reap from our reading and studying of the Bible. Every day, we can find a directive to help us become more like Jesus.

When we find these directives, we should immediately signal our willingness to be obedient. Rebelling against God’s known will is a dangerous decision. The more we are unwilling to obey, the less we will see and the more likely we will drift away down our own path instead of continuing to follow Jesus.

Other parts of God’s word don’t immediately lend themselves to apply directly to our lives. Narratives like we find in the Old Testament histories are not filled with directives on how we are to live. There are, however, plenty of lessons to learn there.

Finding the lessons

There are some guidelines when it comes to finding lessons from narrative passages. Understanding the context is essential. Context helps us determine whether the narrative describes a specific way God worked during a particular historical event. It helps us discern if there is a principle to be learned or simply a revelation into how God has worked in the past.

There may be lessons to be learned that are not applicable to all situations as well. Too many passages are taken out of context to support completely unbiblical actions. Isolating a passage or verse to support an argument is not a good approach to scripture. Rather, the passage should inform or correct or even rebuke us personally. To start with the argument and then find a verse is backward – we start with the verse. We examine the scripture and prayerfully consider how it applies to our lives.

One example

It struck me one day that there was a good lesson in a short verse that I had long overlooked. Here is the verse.

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 (ESV)

Of course, the context here is prior to the birth of Jesus when Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant. The phrase that caught my attention: ‘as he considered these things.’ Joseph was well within his rights to divorce Mary, knowing that he was not the father of her child. It could have been a quick decision that would have been fully supported by the faith community and consistent with scripture. Easy, right?

But notice how he took the time to consider the situation. He was not yet aware of how conception occurred. His careful approach allowed the God the time to reveal his plan to him. It occurred to me that we can tend to rush to a decision when it seems obvious. But how much might change if we truly knew God’s plan?

By taking our time, we can open ourselves to fully know God’s will in every circumstance. Will we always be able to do this? No. When we can, we should. Asking God for discernment will help us to make better decisions and how quickly we must make them.

Your turn

I wonder how much might change in your life if you slowed down in reading the Bible and applying it to your life. Every one of us is a work in progress. We are God’s workmanship. He is the master who knows what is best for us. I encourage you to spend more time in the word and in prayer. Ask God to help you discern and understand his will for your life and to be able to glean even more from the scriptures.