Interconnected Encouragement from God's Word

God's Word (the Bible) is unlike any other book in the entire world. According to the Guinness World Records, it is the best selling book of all time with approximately 80 million copies printed per year and between 5 and 7 BILLION copies produced in the last 1,500 years. Much more importantly, however, it is a "living and active" book that transforms those who read it with a tender heart.

Despite being an avid reader from a young age, I've spent infinitely more hours in works of fiction than on the pages of Scripture. I admit this with regret. For most of my life I've carried the dueling twins of desire and despair as pertains to my faithfulness - or lack thereof - in reading the Bible consistently. My struggle certainly was not from absence of example, as every morning of my childhood and adolescence I descended the stairs to find my mom in her rocking chair with coffee and Bible in hand. I saw my dad do likewise (minus the coffee!) I am so grateful for the gift of witnessing godly commitment at home daily. As I strive for faithfulness in Bible reading today, it's why I've moved from bedroom to living room in hopes of providing similar visible encouragement to our own kids.

Somewhere along the way, God was gracious to help me understand that His Word is a loving letter from Father to daughter rather than a tedious "To-Do" on my list. I sometimes still struggle with feeling guilty if I miss a day's reading or tempted to pat my own back when I don't. I am convinced that the Enemy of our souls knows what healing medicine and infusion of strength and joy results from our time in Scripture, so he never stops trying to keep us from it. I've come to terms that this will be a lifelong struggle for me and it is only if I quit that he has won. The battle is just confirmation that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in my heart. Praise God!

Lately I have been especially encouraged by the interconnectedness of God's Word and how this affirms His eternal power and plan. Only as God has enabled me in recent years to completely both read and listen to the entire Bible multiple times, has this become more evident. People and places and incidents in the Old Testament point to His promises and their fulfillment in the New Testament. Amidst human drama and within our written history, God has planted clues to His character. They may be found in celebrations or in consequences; in laws or in lavish grace. What a mighty yet personal, fiercesome yet faithful Father we serve! I pray He helps me to continue to know Him more each day.