Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O
LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm
19:14
The Psalmist testified that God’s Word quickened
him; and as you receive God’s Word into your being, your whole physical being
will be quickened and you will be made strong. -Smith Wigglesworth
That daily quarter of an hour, for now forty
years or more, I am sure has been one of the greatest sustenances and sources
of calm for my life. Of course, such ‘reading’ is hardly reading in the
ordinary sense of the word at all. As well could you call the letting a very slowly
dissolving lozenge melt imperceptibly in your mouth ‘eating’. Such reading is,
of course, meant as directly as possible to feed the heart, to fortify the
will–to put these into contact with God. –Baron Friedrich Von Hügel
I
know all about throat lozenges. Ricola
bonbons aux herbes, sans sucre have been my constant companion for this
winter flu season, tucked into every pocket and bag, to be pulled out to “melt
imperceptibly” in my mouth again and again, as I sniff my way through the day.
And
while there is certainly a delightful and transformative place to wrestle with
translations and commentaries and cultural context, serving and slicing up and
chewing thoughtfully His word, often in the companionship of others, like a big
celebratory dinner, I do begin every day in still soaking.
For
so long I raced through the Bible in a year, neatly and perhaps even smugly
crossing out each assigned passage, day after day, year after year. And it has
been a good thing, like when I was seven-years-old and stood in front of Valley
of the Fall Community Church congregation and recited the books of the Bible in
order and the twenty-third Psalm and received a red faux-leather King James Bible
with my name on the front cover in gold gilt lettering.
And
I was on an accreditation trip with Dave Rhodes a LONG time ago in Guadalajara,
Mexico. And both of us were very diligent and got up way early to drink instant
Nescafé in the dim school cafeteria and do our daily quiet time. And after he
watched me zip through my little triple-fold schedule, he shared with me his
approach… read until the one verse shouted out, “This is it for today.” And
then he stopped. And meditated. Open to whatever the Spirit had to say for that
day. Listening. Pause.
He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters.
Still
waters.
I
think that is what I appreciate so very much about my weekly African Methodist
Episcopalian Bible Study. We read the Scripture. We copy it neatly into the
blank spots on our worksheet. And then we smile and receive it with great joy.
Still
waters.
And
I visited my friend Shelley yesterday and she and Jerry are walking through a
very long, very boulder-strewn valley of the shadow of death. And when the
night gets too long and dark and the fears start piling up around her, she slips
out of bed and turns to His Word that wraps comfort and peace and strength
around her aching soul. She is memorizing Psalm 118 to feed the heart, to fortify the will–to put
these into contact with God, His steadfast love endures forever.
Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O
LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm
19:14
That I may be made
strong.
Embrace courage.
Still waters.
