Yesterday we saw that
we could see from God's Word,
that a person who meditates on God's Word
is going to be blessed.
And maybe you're thinking with me,
"Yeah I know, but there are so many other things."
and we let all these other excuses come into our lives
for why we're not going to meditate on God's Word.
I mean, take our current situation right now.
Our country is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic
and it has thrown our lives upside down.
But do we use, even something like that,
that break in the routine as an excuse for
why we're not meditating on God's Word.
Because we have so many other things to do.
There's a story that's told about a man who went to his first Super Bowl.
He was a die-hard football fan and he went to his first Super Bowl.
And he sat down in his seat and he noticed the seat next to him was open.
And so he commented on it to the woman sitting across from him.
And she said, "That was my husband's but he died."
And the man said, "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that."
"But even so, I'm just surprised that nobody
"jumped at the chance to take his seat.
"I mean, this is the Super Bowl. A friend or a family member."
And the woman said,
"Beats me.
They all insisted on going to the funeral."
You get the point?
The problem is not with
the wonderful things that God gives us to do in this life.
But it's sometimes in what we leave undone.
Because here's the truth.
When we leave undone meditating on God's Word,
that can have a huge impact on our life.
There are many impacts, but one that I want to focus on today
is that being in God's Word really gives us perspective
especially when you think of what our country is going through right now.
And we need that perspective.
That without it,
in my life, I'll swing
between two sides of a pendulum.
between pride and despair.
Here's what I mean.
So I'm a teacher. I'm a professor.
And when things are going really well in the classroom,
when students are really attentive and they're doing all their homework
and they they stand up on their desks and they say,
"Oh captain, my captain." every time I come into the room.
Okay, that doesn't actually happen.
But when things are going really well,
it's easy for me to just look at my life
and go, "You know what?
"I'm a pretty good teacher."
And I puff up with pride.
But then, just as quickly, things don't go so well
and students aren't doing an assignment
and they're not paying attention and
they might even be
sleeping in class.
Okay, that doesn't happen either, right?
But when things don't go well, then
it's just as easy for me to look at myself
and go, "Oh, I'm terrible." And I fall into despair.
Between pride and despair.
Both of those conclusions are wrong.
Instead I should be meditating on God's Word
and then I'm reminded
that I am God's child.
And that is the only thing that defines me.
Finally, if things go well in your life,
then to God be the glory.
And if they go poorly in your life,
well again, to God be the glory because you are still his child.
Apply that to yourself as in your roll as
a worker, or an employer, as a spouse, as a child, as a friend.
When you look at the Gospels,
you notice something about Jesus.
That he's always being pressed by the crowd.
People are always looking for his attention.
And yet, he makes sure that he takes time
to go away from the press of the crowd
and spend time with his Father in prayer and meditation.
And oftentimes you'll see
in the Gospels that he
takes his disciples away from the press of the crowd
because he wants to spend time just with them.
Understand that's what God wants to do for you too.
Jesus wants to take you away from the press of your life
and he wants to spend time with just you in his Word.
And the beautiful thing about it,
is that you have his total attention.
That's an aspect of God's imminence.
So when we talk about God's imminence,
we're saying that he can't be divided.
So wherever he is, he is 100%.
And that means that when you open up God's Word,
and you are reading from his Word,
you have his total attention.
In fact, you have more of his attention
than he has of yours.
That's a neat fact.
But even better than that is,
what he tells you in that word.
He says, "My child,
my sister, my brother."
He says, "I love you.
I love you so much, I died for you.
So that you would be in heaven with me.
Now whatever you have going on in your life right now,
whatever it is,
I'll be there.
Though everybody else may leave, I never will.
I will be with you
and I will bless you."
And that's an important perspective to have,
especially with the the coronavirus that's
sweeping throughout the country, and
and making people anxious and nervous.
We need to hear that
God is still on his throne.
He's still in control
and he'll never leave you.
Let's pray.
Dear Jesus, Your Word inspires my heart within.
Your Word grants healing from my sin.
Your Word has power to guide and bless.
Your word brings peace and happiness.
Amen.
Thanks for watching today.
With everything going on in our country,
With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping throughout our country,
what verses from God's Word really give you comfort?
That you really hold on to.
Share those below so that they can encourage other people too.
We'll see you tomorrow.