“And the Lord God
said…” Genesis 2:18
The LORD GOD said [bold, caps,
underlined…emphasis mine!]
It’s a brand new
year! If you’re reading this, we’re off
on yet another adventure. We have been
given one more day to LISTEN! If there
is one thing I want to do this year, it is hear what the Lord God says.
I finished a different
through-the-Bible plan this year with a Promise Bible my hubby
purchased for me last Christmas while visiting our oldest son and his
family. Every day, I was drawn to it like
a magnet. I didn’t always get to read
each daily segment, but I was so conscious of it when I didn’t, so wanting to “catch
up” or, not wanting to get too far behind.
We ended this year on a trip also, a whirlwind kid/grandkid tour
starting in Atlanta with our youngest son and his fam, stopping back in WV
overnight to hear our second son preach and spend a “Christmas evening” with
them. Then it was on to Indiana to see the oldest and his fam. We brought the New Year in with the number- 3
son and his fam in Philadelphia. Since
I had my Promise Bible with me, ending 2014, I started over on the first of
2015. These beginning chapters in
Genesis were so familiar. But there were
certain words and phrases that just kept grabbing my attention: God created;
the Spirit of God moved; God saw; God divided; God called; God said; God
made; God set them; God blessed them;
God ended His work. Then, all of a
sudden a change occurs in chapter 2 verse 4.
It now begins to say, “the LORD God made”; the LORD God formed; the LORD
God planted; the LORD God commanded; the LORD God caused; the LORD God
said.
The powerful Creator
God became personal, intimate.
The name “LORD God”
was so intimate that the Jewish tradition did not allow for it to be spoken. We know it as Yahwey, Jehovah. Too holy to
voice, too sacred to even spell, it was YHWY. But not only did God the Creator perform
all these wonderful acts, He desired from the beginning to communicate with His
creation. And He has not stopped. After all, what is a relationship without
communication?? And what would our world
be without words, spoken or written? God
is all about words. In fact, He is the
Word ("In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God," John 1:1). He is speaking. The problem is that we’re not listening.
Yes, the Scripture
is familiar to me. I have read it all my
life. I have made it a point to learn it,
memorize it, and apply its Truth. Maybe
for you it is new, maybe a bit overwhelming.
Maybe you are doubting its relevance in our world today or intimidated
or even angered by its authoritative nature.
Regardless, God has spoken. He is
the great Creator God, the LORD God, and He wants us to hear what He has to
say. It matters. Whether it is a passage of Scripture you have
read a hundred times, or you have just read it for the first time, it is now a
part of you and it is alive and powerful.
It can change you, cheer you, encourage you, guide you, teach you,
correct you, instruct you, empower you, help you, heal you, save you. JUST LISTEN!
“Did you hear the
words coming out of my mouth?!” I’ve
said that from time to time to one of my boys or one of the many God has given
me to care for, when I just knew that somewhere between the words leaving my
mouth and being put into action, they just got lost! The connection was never made between what I
had just said and what they had just heard.
It was obvious that even though they heard what I said, they did not
listen! Listening involves more than
just hearing. Until there is impact or
action there is no listening.
The LORD God has
spoken people, and I want to listen, more now than ever before. I want it to penetrate my
heart and life, bringing me into an even deeper understanding of His grace, His
power, His love. And I want to act on it
in abandon, letting it work itself out in my every deed. I hope you do too. It could make all the difference in how 2015
plays out.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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