SPRUCEਨਮੂਨਾ

God's Word is not a textbook.

There will be no exam later to see if you remember what you read. The goal of reading thoughtfully and writing what you discover is not so that you can pass a test. It is to enter His presence.

God's word is "living and active" (Hebrews 4:12) because God is the personal caretaker of His Word. The Lord Himself described this remarkable reality to a prophet named Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:10-11 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Far from being a textbook, God's Word for us in an appointment book!

When we open and read and interact with it, we are keeping an appointment with the Living God. We are meeting with Him to hear His heart, to seek His will, to know Him, and to converse with Him. This is what we see in Habakkuk.

This is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk:

O Lord,I have heard of what you have done,
and I am filled with awe.
Now do again in our times
the great deeds you used to do.
Be merciful, even when you are angry.

Was it in anger, Lord, that you struck the rivers
and parted the sea?
Were you displeased with them?
No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:1-2, 8, 17-19)

Habakkuk is not satisfied to simply read about God. He knows that to see what God says is to have an appointment with God Himself. So after reading and writing what he hears, he engages God in conversation; that is all prayer is. He talks to God about what he hears from Him. He asks further questions. He listens for God's response through the Holy Spirit bringing more understanding and clarity. And He worships the God he is growing to know more and more.

Knowing God comes before knowing His will.

Consider the sequence described for us by the Apostle Paul, who spent three years getting to know God before he understood God's greater will for His life.

Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

CONSIDER:

• What are the prerequisites to knowing the will of God for you?
• Do you think it is possible to truly worship God if you do not know Him as He reveals Himself?
• How does knowing God transform you?

S.P.R.U.C.E.

E - ENGAGE God in conversation.

Habakkuk listens, writes, and considers. And then he engages in conversation with God about what he has heard. This is the essence of relationship-building with God.

The relationship God invites us into is not Master/slave or even Master/servant. For those who come to God through the door opened by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are called FRIENDS.

Jesus tells us we can know we are His friends because He tells us His Father's business (John 15:15). We don't step into His presence to get our marching orders - or even just to get answers to our questions. We meet with God because we want to know Him and have a relationship with Him - our Lord and Savior, who also calls us friends.

• ENGAGING involves the first step of listening to understand (even a little) what God speaks in His word.
• Then we share what is on our hearts. God is listening and knows us better than we know ourselves so we can be fully transparent with all our emotions and concerns.
• We may want to review what we heard Him say. We may have questions about what His Spirit spoke to our spirit in His word.
• Like Habakkuk, we may want to express our ongoing confusion.
• We may want to praise Him for what we discover.
• Like Habakkuk, to know God is to express our worship.

Remember this: God's Spirit not only helps us understand what God says, but He helps us engage with God.

Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

God has taken the responsibility upon Himself to ensure that we can both hear what is on His heart and share what is on ours.

We cooperate with Him when we take God-directed steps to S.P.R.U.C.E. our time in His presence.