Answering the Call to Stop Withering
Missing out on God’s word slowly dries out our soul. God is calling us to Himself so we can stop withering away.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Isaiah 40:8 ESV
I heard a small voice in the back of the van singing something. I wasn’t familiar with the tune and I couldn’t really hear the words but it sounded sweet. I kept listening, straining my ears as I kept my eyes on the road until I could finally make out the words.
“The grass withers and the flower fades. The grass withers and flowers fade. The grass withers and the flowers fade. But the word of God will stand!”
My 6-year-old was singing the verse he learned in Sunday school. Somehow his verses are always super convicting for his mama.
Over the years, God’s promises from scripture have been my lifeline. When life gets too hard to manage I turned to the Word for guidance, comfort, direction. I don’t always find exactly what I’m searching for – usually I find something better.
If I’m honest, it’s a struggle. I’m tired and busy and sometimes I want to sleep or watch TV instead of spending time in the Word. I get bored with my reading plan or hit a passage of scripture that doesn’t make sense.
Discipline takes work and sometimes I want the day off.
My time spent reading and studying scripture is never wasted. And that day in the van I felt that familiar prick and pull in my heart. A prick because I hadn’t really spent any time with my Bible for a few months. And the pull of God calling me to Him.
I grabbed my Bible that evening and opened it to Isaiah 40. I wanted to read the verse my son sang in the van. And I realized that my spiritual growth was just like the grass and flowers. It tended to wither away for various reasons.
I didn’t want that to be the case. I wanted more of God. I wanted to have a strong and deep faith to see me through hard times and also to be an example for my boys. So I needed to get to work.
The time I’ve spent in the Word always brings me comfort. On days when I don’t do a lot of studying or reading I often meditate on verses and passages that I’ve hidden in my heart over the years. I also find that the Holy Spirit brings a verse to mind when a dear friend needs a word of encouragement to keep trusting God.
I still have seasons where I feel like I’m withering away when it comes to time in the Bible but they are thankfully becoming fewer and far between. But even in seasons when I seem to forget I own a Bible, God remains faithful to invite me into a deeper relationship with Him.
In His Word
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4
In Your Life
Do you have a regular habit of reading and studying God’s word? If not what steps can you take to build that discipline into your daily routine?
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