“Give me an eagerness for your decrees; do not inflict me with love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.” Psalm 119:36-37, NLT

“Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way.” Psalm 119:35-36, Msg

YES, I love God’s Word to us! I admit it. I anxiously get out of bed each morning, get a cup of coffee to wake up a bit, and then dive into a conversation with God through His Word. Do I worship the Bible? NO, I worship the God who wrote His love letter, his words of wisdom and guidance, His message of hope and deliverance for those who love Him back. Although I love my family with deep passion and want to be with them, I also long for the day when I can talk with my LORD face to face.

This was not always the case for me. Yes, I grew up learning and memorizing short passages of Scripture like a lot of “church kids” did, but my attention in my younger adult years was on striving to be the best teacher possible. I poured over textbooks, burning the midnight oil, to discover new techniques to help kids. I also was finishing up a master’s degree, while being wife and mother of three, while being a teacher!

One night, in the eleventh hour, as I was in bed with two textbooks on my lap studying for a final, the Holy Spirit came to me and spoke loudly to my heart. “What if I studied God’s Word with as much care and determination as I do these textbooks?” Wow! I have goosebumps again, just reliving this moment. Then the Holy Spirit asked, “Don’t you miss talking with Me?” Shudder. Why, yes I do.

Now, let me take you to a hospital room. My mom is in her last days of life as we know it here on earth. She is on a heavy dose of oxygen with the mask pulled over her nose and mouth, making it nearly impossible for her to talk. She asks for paper and pen. We grab a yellow legal pad from the nurses station. She begins to write. Her words of love to us are scrawled. Her words of guidance for me in caring of her business and how to take care of dad are written. Other funny things are written reminding us of her sense of humor. Her passion and devotion for dad are evident as she asked what the date was that day. When I told her, she wrote, “Good, I didn’t want to die on our wedding anniversary date…that would be too much for your dad.”

Dad still carries the “yellow pages” in his Bible. He reads them more often than I probably know. He pours over the words with care while remembering mom. He loves her still with all his heart. Those words of mom give him hope as do the words of his Bible from His Lord…God’s precious words of life for all of us.

Do you get it now? Until we can see Jesus face to face, we pour over His loving words to us and feel His Presence. We are given hope for the journey from here…to There. We are comforted, convicted but not condemned, and transformed by His Word to us. We worship the One who delivers us from sin and then had His people write it in ways we hold in our laps to read each morning.

No trinket or toy, no raise in pay, no job, not even winning a Mustang can compare with having a “bent for His Words of wisdom! It IS invigorating to me! That’s why I am so eager to share it with you, over coffee, each morning…even on the weekends!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for “interrupting” my studies of textbooks to remind me of the Textbook of Life! Thank you for giving me the eagerness to cast aside those textbooks and pour over Your Word that night and every morning since that “moment” in time. Thank you for parents and grandparents who taught me to love you back!
In Jesus Name, Amen