A Letter From Far Away

The setting: My favorite place to sit and read my Bible looking out of the window toward a far-away mountain range. As I read my Bible I realized His words were not really touching me that much. While that's not necessarily a serious concern, in my heart, I wanted His word to come more alive to me. Here is the scenario that became mixed with my thoughts:

I imagined being the wife of a soldier stationed far away from his bride and his children. I imagined the letters that he writes and sends to her, to them. I could then see that wife pouring over the letters, standing on the curb reading and not even waiting to get in the house. She was absorbing his words, imagining the sound of his voice speaking them, and then perhaps the joy and tears being mixed together as she admires the love of her life, their children's hero. I could see her reading the letter multiple times until the next one would come, and writing her own in return. Then I thought of the words in print before my own eyes, The Bible. His letter to me.

In Psalm 144:1 David says, "Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle." And he goes on to praise and acknowledge his Lord so beautifully. Though he was a weary soldier, he did not lose his awe of his commander. He never lost sight of his position; that he was a soldier who hung on every word of His Lord.

The connection for us is that we do lose sight of our commander. We're the soldiers. We're in training. Though He has left His mighty Holy Spirit here, we do not see Him for who He is. His words do not stir our hearts as they once did. Do we take seriously His orders, His commands? Do we long for Him? Do we long to see Him again? Are we more in love with the world? Do we think we love Him because we're currently somewhat comfortable and taken care of? Would we still love Him in the heat of a new kind of battle?

My encouragement to myself, and to us, is to read His word in a new way. We are to recall and remind ourselves that He is alive, He intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. His Word is living. We ARE in training. Are we asleep? I ask that He would stir in us a new love and longing for His Word, the Bible; that we would long for it as a battle weary and tired soldier would long for bread, simply bread.

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."