BEING RICH IN GOD'S WORD PROMOTES THANKFULNESS

A devotion by husband Steve Long - Visit his blog at Reflecting the Light

                             PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAIL HARP

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom … giving thanks to
God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3.16-17)


For most, there is some familiarity with the bible. Even people who are not Christians use words or phrases from the bible like: “Armageddon,” “Judge not lest you be judged,” “Go the extra mile,” “Rise and shine,” “Eat, drink and be merry,” “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” “Twinkling of an eye,” “At your wit’s end,” “The truth shall set you free,” “The apple of your eye,” “Adam’s apple.” Wait, is that in the bible?


Some know the scriptures a little deeper. They can quote John 3.16 (which is maybe the greatest verse in all the bible), can name most of the ten commandments, can list some of the beatitudes and a few of the apostles. They can tell you a few bible stories too.


But this verse tells us to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” What does this mean? Well, when a person is rich, they have lots of money. When a food is rich, it has lots of sugar or some spice. When someone is rich in God’s word they have a lot of bible knowledge, but it is more than that. It is thinking according to his word, speaking according to it and acting according to it.

As reigns to a horse, the word of Christ becomes the reins of our lives. As a rudder to a ship, the bible becomes our rudder. As the northern star to a navigator, the bible becomes our northern star to us. It becomes our guide, our rock to lean on, our resource, and our compass. If we’re rich with God’s word, we can not only quote scripture but it shapes our worldview, our self view, our God view and our view of eternity.

As we learn the word in this way, “in all wisdom,” we are filled with hope, joy, love and peace. It becomes the sword of God’s Spirit as he fights off the enemy, the devil, through it. Wow! This gives us so much to be thankful for!

Some days, we may not be able to see that much good happening. But “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

So on those days, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly for this will give you much to be thankful for. On the days when you do see a lot of good, let his word dwell in you richly then still, for another day will come when his promises will be all that you will have. This will give us plenty to be thankful to God for every day of our lives.

Try this: When you read your bible each day, stop and thank God for the rich realities he has shown you through it.