Today's BSF reading was Isaiah 5:26-30. It's verse after verse of God's wrath, his vividly detailed judgement on people who were living carelessly. They were carrying on like He didn't exist.
The irony is that living without paying him heed is what comes most naturally. God is invisible and silent. I read about Him, like I might read about Tom Sawyer or George Washington. Then I close the bible, and the real stuff is right there. Isabel's school bus and Lily's school car line and groceries to buy and all the rest. To believe that there is something else going on, in an invisible realm, takes faith, obviously. But once you get over the belief part ("this is true, this is true, this is true," goes the mantra), then you must work to remember it's true. It's not a natural part of my thought process while at Trader Joe's, or during my writing work (TV shows, babies with fever), or amidst the scheduling of play dates. Sure, it's true. But I still have to make dinner.
In chapters 7 and 8 of A Place of Quiet Rest, DeMoss argues that a daily devotional (in the morning!) can transform you, because the bible isn't just a book. It's God's supernatural words, which can change you from the inside out if you spend enough time with them. "Martin Luther experienced the supernatural, transforming power of the Word that later led him to write, 'The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.'" On page 154, she writes, "Our hearts need to be tuned to the Lord, much as a musical instrument needs to be tuned."
The idea (which I've learned before, but which I always, eventually push away) is that living in faith doesn't come naturally. That's one of the insidious results of The Fall, apparently. Grace is free, but finding intimacy with God takes work.
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. Technically, though, what He's given me is the instruction. It's up to me to read it.
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