In the last few days, I have truly struggled with what to write on my blog. I have felt a very real tension between whether to keep going on or whether to just discontinue this blog and chalk it up to wonderful therapy and a worthwhile ministry for a time. I have had so much going on in my life with a hectic schedule with work, school, teaching, resting, chores, church, baby stuff, and so much more. I feel tired and disconnected when I get home and I honestly don't want to do anything but sit on the couch and get lost in a tv show till it is time to go to bed to face another day.
All of this busyness, has truly drained me spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The ironic part is that that my sleep quality, or lack there of, is directly tied to me level of exhaustion. The more exhausted I am the worse I sleep. This cycle does not exactly bode well for relaxing, healing, or strength for a new day.
I have taken up a new routine recently that involves a long soak in a bath before I go to bed. The reason I began this routine is because I had hoped the hot bath would calm down my strained muscles and improve my sleep quality. Since I have began this routine, I have also taken up another routine with it. Each night I soak, I read something that helps me learn more about who God is. Right now I am chewing on the amazing words of J I Packer in Knowing God.
Tonight I read about the immutability of God. God never changes. (Ps 102:26-27) God has no need for change because He is perfect. He is exactly the same today as He was at the creation of the universe. (Hebrew 13:8) Have you ever truly mulled over that truth? God was not formed. God did not grow up. God does not grow old, feeble, or unstable. (Jas 1:17) God is not dead!
In Knowing God, all of these truths come together to explain the need and validity of reading and understanding the Bible. Many of us have picked up the Bible, read it for a while, and struggled with the fact that there seems to be no connection between the world of biblical times and today. Many of us have questioned how a time that seemed so much different can speak to us where we are and in the life we live. I have struggled with this at times and I have even longed for those simpler times, technologically speaking, in the Bible.
Though there is so much that is different between the Bible time and now, God is exactly the same between the two of them. The Bible is our way to understand God personally. (Exodus 3:14) He has shown us Himself through His divine word. (Ps 33:11) He has shown us what He expects, what He desires, and how very much He loves us. We can take all of His promises to the bank. We can trust that the truths that were spoken about Him then are still true for us today. (Ps 119:89, 151-152) Finally and most importantly, we can know that through what He, Jesus Christ, did for us then we can have complete peace and assurance of what He fulfills in us when we put our full faith and truth in Him today! (John 3:16-17)
Through this new routine, God has given me exactly what I need to find true rest and strength in Him for each day. He is reviving me, not through the bath, but through His Word and filling the core of my being with Himself. He is showing me who He is and revealing the truth of the Bible to me in a new, simple, and tangible way. All I desire is to know God fully and completely. I want to live and breath Him throughout every facet of my life. I want to fully die to self and allow Him to live through me daily.
So I will continue to write this blog and be faithful to what the Lord has set on my heart. I now understand that this blog is both for my healing and the healing of others. I also understand that, through the example of the Bible, I am to continue where the Lord has me and remain faithful in that task. Please pray for me as I seek to walk closer with Him and have the strength and courage to continue writing each day. I pray that you to will discover a new way to connect with God through prayer and I hope you will also develop a new passion and hunger to know God as He is and has always been in His Word.
Blessings,
Greg
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