Taking it Personal

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:14-16 (New American Standard Bible)

Approaching Scripture as simply a book of historical facts can have little effect on my life. If I cannot see the Bible as anything but stories about people from the past and their relationship to God then I will fail to see how it applies to me. For too many years, I couldn’t read God’s Word with the ability to make what was being said personal to me. If God was speaking to Israel it seemed like the words were meant for them rather than me….unless they were words of condemnation and judgment. Words of affirmation, encouragement, and love weren’t accepted or owned by me. I would not have slipped my own name into the assurances of today‘s passage. I would not have heard God saying He had not forgotten me or that He had inscribed me on the palms of His hands. To do so would have felt wrong, like I was pretending. I had been taught to ask certain questions when reading the Bible. Who is talking? Who is being talked to? What is being said? What I failed to ask was, what is being said to me? Leaving myself out of the picture was tragic! How much I failed to see and experience because of a faulty view of God and His Word.

Once I could begin putting my name into passages of Scripture, Bible reading and study took on a whole new dimension for me. Now I cannot read passages without doing that and it all stems back to a prayer I voiced to God one morning in my kitchen. I simply asked Him to show me His heart in Scripture. I had no idea how much that would change my life. It was the start of me being able to receive God’s personal messages to me. To see that what He was saying to individuals and nations centuries ago was being said to me today. Today’s passage now touches me deeply rather than appearing foreign to me. It gives me assurance that I am loved and thought of by the One who created me. It is what I can meditate upon when I feel forgotten or forsaken by others. It is what strengthens me in my moments of weakness. It is what helps me to see God’s Word as a letter written and meant for me. Anymore, I take His words personal….very personal!

Father, showing me Your heart in Scripture opened up my heart to receive what You were saying. I can now see the treasures of truth You intended for me all along. Thank you! Amen.

Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqMYHmoXMAQ&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.