Lean in, listen to the voice of Jesus, block out the shouts of the world and be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
God wants to transform us when we read His words. He wants our minds to be filled with transformative power, love, kindness, forgiveness and so much more. He wants us to know, love and desire Him more than anything else the world offers. God is our true source of life and satisfaction.
When we read our Bibles daily, it shouldn’t be just another thing on a checklist to mark off to make ourselves feel better, and I’m sure we’ve all been guilty about that on occasion (I know I have). And it shouldn’t be just to fill our minds with information; although that’s good, it’s not the main point. When we read, it should be because we want to. We want to know more about the Creator and Savior of the world; we want to know more about how we can love and serve better; we want to know the plans God has for us as His children, and we want to know how we can more effectively lead others to Him. Basically, we want what we read to shape our lives and give us an action plan.
What other book is there that has the power to transform your life? What other book offers a roadmap or a pathway to living a better life? What other book convicts us when we do wrong? And in what other book is the hero also the servant that dies for everyone so we can be called children of God?
When we open the transformative pages of our Bibles, we are met with the kindness, grace and forgiveness we don’t deserve. If you’re just beginning with this whole Christianity thing and reading your Bible to check off something on a list, there’s still value in that because you’re getting into a good discipline, but take it a step further and try something new. Maybe, before you open it up, take a moment and pray God will transform you by what you read and will lead you to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength just a bit more each time you read those life-giving words. If you’re not in the Word every day, or often at that, it can be easy to allow the world to overtake your mind and overwhelm you. With everything going on today, that couldn’t ring more true.
Everything in the world shouts “LOOK AT ME! LOOK OVER HERE! LISTEN TO THIS!” But Jesus whispers “Keep your eyes on me. Trust me. Do not be afraid.” When people whisper to us, we automatically take a posture of leaning in and listening more intently than we would when people shout at us. So, lean in, listen to the voice of Jesus, block out the shouts of the world and be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Pray and seek ways in which you can love and serve others more through the love Christ has given you, then you will be able to hear God’s good, perfect and pleasing will.
It won’t always be easy and Jesus never promised it would. There may be stumbling blocks or even boulders that could be hard to get around on your pathway, but continue to trust God and that He’s leading you to know Him better, grow in your faith and go love others with every step you take.
