understanding – Oh Lord Help Us

darkness, deeper, God’s Word, relationship, understanding, salvation, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Deeper: Diving Deep Into God’s Word Instead Of Treading On Its Surface

DevotionalsJune 2, 2019June 2, 2019

We have been given the best treasure for finding and knowing God. The only true way to truly know Him is by diving deeper into the Bible.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Genesis 1:2, CSB

What Treasures Lie Below The Surface?

Have you ever noticed the deeper you dive into scripture, the more you seem to find? Hidden treasures lie deep below the surface of the Word. We are not meant to tread on its surface because it will only give us a small glimpse of who God is and what He has for us.

When we tread on the surface of the Word, we also find ourselves face to face with the darkness that covers it. This darkness is where we find ourselves lost, tempted, and treading in the territory of the enemy.

Instead of living our lives on the surface, we should dive down deep to see what hidden treasures we will find in the waters below. Doing this, we will gain a deeper realization of who our Creator is, a deeper relationship with His Son, and a deeper reason for diving further into the scriptures.

Dive deep with me today, Dear Reader, as we explore together these hidden treasures.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:2-5, CSB

Deeper Realization of Who God Is

God wants us to know who He is. He created us in His image. If we desire to know how we are supposed to live or be, then we would be wise to know who God is first.

Knowing the attributes of God will help us better understand ourselves. Before I knew Jesus as my Savior, I read the Bible. I knew how to read each and every word. Yet, I had no clue what it was saying. I was only reading on the surface.

It wasn’t until I was saved that the Word of God became easier to understand. Even then, I remained on the surface when I read. I would read a random place in the Bible, mostly the New Testament, and then try to apply what I read to my life.

The scriptures helped me, but they didn’t give me fully what God had originally designed. He wanted me to dive deeper. He wanted me to come to a deep realization of Him. I couldn’t do that by reading the Bible the way I was; which was for mostly selfish reasons.

God’s word is full of encouragement and good stuff, but it’s much more than a ‘pick you up when you feel down‘ book. When we dive deep in the scriptures and ask ourselves, how does this scripture characterize God? first, then we understand the direction clearly on how to apply His Word in our lives.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
Ephesians 1:17, CSB

Deeper Relationship With His Son

Understanding who God is will inevitably lead to a closer and deeper relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. If we only allow ourselves 5 minutes a day in our Bibles, how deep can we expect our relationship with Christ truly to be?

I’m not saying that we should all spend our days with our noses shoved in our Bibles doing nothing else. Although, if given this option, I’d happily welcome it. All I am saying is the amount of time we invest in the relationship, is what we will naturally expect to get out of it.

When I find myself reading my Bible with intention, I tend to be led to discover sweet treasures of God and His relationship with His son, Jesus. This prompts me to feel a love so high and so deep between the two of them that it moves me to tears. I need to be truly invested in what I’m reading in order to get that kind of emotion and reaction.

For example, my younger sister LOVES to read! I’ve always admired this about her. She will sit and read an entire book as big as Harry Potter in one sitting if allowed the time. She always tries to explain the story to me when she is done reading, but I never seem to have the same reaction she had.

This is because she was invested in the story and the characters of that story, while I was not. She got to know their character well; So when those characters experienced something very tragic or very exciting, she experienced it too. Her ability to understand them as the role they were created to be in that story, is what drove her into an intimate and deep connection with them.

This is the same way God designed us to read His Word. When we allow ourselves to understand the main characters of the story, which is not us, then we will reap a more meaningful relationship with them. You can not know the Father without knowing His son. And you can not know His son without knowing the Father. When we know the main characters, we then deeply come to know ourselves.

They saw the Lord’s works, his wondrous works in the deep.
Psalms 107:24, CSB

Deeper Reason For The Dive

Upon looking at the scripture in Genesis 1:2, I found a startling discovery. The scripture says that darkness covered the surface of the watery depths. When you think of darkness, what comes to mind?

For me, these words are triggered: isolation, depression, lost, blind, fear, cold, temptation, and evil. We all have been there. We all know it well. It isn’t a place we enjoy living in. God understood this fact which is why, if you dive into His word, you’ll find His sweet warning from the very foundations of the earth.

The fact that God reveals to us from the beginning that darkness covers THE SURFACE of the waters, is not accidental. He intentionally put that there for our own benefit and knowledge as a warning not to tread there. Knowing this will help us stay away from the surface and dive down deep for all things good. There is a reason for God’s placement of scriptures. He wants us to unlock these mysteries and find as many hidden treasures as we can.

Today, Beloved, I urge you to do this very thing. Read your Bible to know who God is. Read your Bible to grow in a deeper relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. And understand, Sister, there is a deep reason for EVERY. SINGLE. WORD!

The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters,
a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.
Proverbs 18:4, CSB

Read your Bible to know who God is and grow your relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. Understand, Sister, there is a deep reason for EVERY. SINGLE. WORD! Click To Tweet

Jason Leung

knowledge, wisdom, understanding, God's Word, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Knowledge: Trusting the Omniscience of God to Preserve Your Life

DevotionalsMarch 4, 2019March 4, 2019

Knowledge can be powerful, but to what end? Understanding may bring advancement, yet at times those tidbits of information leave us wishing we could un-know it.

Recently I read a case study about a woman who struggled with paralyzing fear. Both she and her fiancee were followers of Christ, but her betrothed had been sexually immoral before he became a Christian. She was concerned about STDs so they both underwent testing. He came back clean, but she learned she would have difficulty conceiving children. That knowledge sent her spiraling into a deep depression. She went from one fear to another based on the information she received.

Ignorance is Bliss

On my way to the auto shop the same day I read the case study, I was keenly aware of the thin tread and unwelcome screw lodged in my back driver-side tire. Wincing each time I hit a bump, I tried to navigate the winter roadways with the expertise of a racecar driver.

Then it donned on me: A week ago I had no idea my vehicle was less than safe to drive so I drove around town without worry. God was just as faithful to get me from A to B, but like the woman I read about, I did not experience any anxiety until I had knowledge of the incapacity. There are definite perks to not knowing some things. Once known, what can we do with it?

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

Psalm 143:10-11, NIV

Knowledge is Power?

In the beginning, Adam and Eve knew only goodness and purity. There was not one iota of doubt, fear, or anxiety. They trusted God completely, loved one another fully, and enjoyed creation without hindrance. Their only need was God’s presence. Then an opportunity arose.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Genesis 3:1, ESV

Eve responded by quoting what God told her and Adam, saying God had commanded them not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden — not even touch it — or they would die. Then the serpent offered a different viewpoint. He fed her more information than she had to begin with.

But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’

Genesis 3:4-5, ESV

FOMO

Eve likely thought what all of us have undoubtedly considered at one time or another: What if God is holding out on me? Are you familiar with this acronym — FOMO? It means fear of missing out. Eve had a choice in that moment… Trust her Maker or pursue selfish curiosity. God had given her and Adam one no in an entire world of yeses. “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

So of course, being the children that they were, that’s exactly what they did…Instead of embracing God’s good gifts, the man and woman doubted God’s generosity toward them. Doubted that an entire world of goodness was enough. Instead, they turned their eyes to the one thing that had been withheld…As much as the man and woman clearly defied God’s boundary, they also rejected everything He had already provided for them. They saw all that He offered them and decided that it was not good enough. And in doing so they turned from His goodness to seek goodness elsewhere. But all they discovered was evil.

Hannah Anderson, All That’s Good

It’s Simple

I want to be clear: knowledge is not evil. Pursuing education, practicing memorization, reading, and studying can be positive avenues to gain wisdom. But let the pursuit of knowledge have the purpose of conforming us more and more into Christ-likeness. And as a friend shared with me, it’s okay to be simple…

God will give us the understanding we need when we need it.

The unfolding of your words give light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130, ESV

Some knowledge strikes fear in our hearts.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 John 4:18, ESV

This verse is not meant to shame, but to encourage us. Pray to be perfected in love!

Some knowledge plants pride in our hearts.

This is what the LORD says: ‘The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me — that I am the LORD, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.’ This is the LORD’s declaration.

Jeremiah 9:23-24, CSB

Revealed

We can never exhaust our knowledge of God. He faithfully reveals His character through His Word, His people, and through His creation. He knows all things, and as a result of His overflowing delight, He has given us the gift of His Spirit to preserve and grow us into His likeness.

Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God[…] Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:10, 12, CSB

Sisters, may we trust what has been freely given and revealed to us, and only ever seek the knowledge that draws us closer to Christ.

We can never exhaust our knowledge of God. He faithfully reveals His character through His Word, His people, and through His creation. Click To Tweet

Sharon McCutcheon

Do You Trust Me?

Stay SaneAugust 28, 2016

This past winter my boys were thrilled that we had a significant snowfall here in South Carolina. Especially my oldest. He loves the snow and misses living in Chicago where snow was a guarantee each winter. And to make things even better, my parents were in town for it. In addition to snow, my oldest loves breakfast. It has now become an expected thing that he gets to have “second breakfast” with his grandparents when they get up and going.

The morning of the snow he was completely torn. He wanted to play in the snow, and he wanted to have second breakfast, but in his mind it didn’t look like he could do both. I encouraged him to go outside and play, knowing that he would still be able to sit and eat with them when he came back in. He, however, was in a panic trying to figure out how he could have both things. What I said to him was, “Do you trust me?” He responded with some protest and “buts” so I said again, “Do you trust me? Do you trust that I have good things for you?” And in that moment, I heard the Lord speaking to me, “Do you trust ME?”

I am no different than my son. I want to have it all, and will stress myself out trying to manipulate the situation so that I get my way. I think that I want to control things, but in reality I am unable to do so. And honestly, I cannot handle the pressure of being in control. I have to trust the Lord. If I truly believe that He has good things for me, then I can trust Him to take care of me.

My Past and Current Season

A few months ago I was sharing my heart with a new friend, and she was asking at what point God became real to me. It was a great question that really got me thinking. All relationships go through different stages, and a relationship with Christ is no different. The years we lived in Chicago were tough. To be honest, I was angry with Him. But I truly believe that that was alright. I may have been yelling, but at least we were talking. Maybe you have heard the quote, “The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference.” That kind of sums up my relationship with Christ for that season.

Then when we moved to Greenville, I felt like all my prayers were answered. My anxiety melted away, I liked people again, and my soul was able to rest. My relationship with Christ became loving once again. When I came to that thought, I gasped. I realized that I am a spoiled brat. It was not until I got my way, that I was happy with the Lord. And in that moment I could hear Him whisper, “Your time of rest is coming to an end. Do you trust me?”

Since it was finalized that we will be moving, I have been struggling with trying to understand. There have been so many wonderful connections and open doors recently, and it has left me confused. My life has been seeming to unfold the way I had envisioned it. I have felt like I am doing what I am suppose to be doing and am where I am suppose to be. Through tears, I have submitted that I am simply just not required to understand. I am required to be obedient. And obedience requires trust.

The weeks leading up to getting our house on the market to sell were extremely stressful because I had a long to-do list and little time. It was on me to get the stuff done. Sometimes stress is reality in certain seasons of life. Once the house went on the market, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. I had done all that I could do, and now it is out of my control. All I can do now is pray for a buyer. Now I have to trust.

I’m no longer feeling overwhelmed, but I am having to fight feeling discouraged. See, we haven’t had a single showing. Not one. And I can hear Him saying, “Do you trust me?” And several times a day I have to say out loud, “I trust you, Lord.”

Final Thought

Trust is not an emotion. It’s a choice that does not require me to understand. And it is one that I am very aware of at this moment. My family is entering a new season, and we must trust. Things may not go as planned, but I will trust. I will trust that it is not about me, or my comfort. I will trust that He wants good things for me, but that may mean being uncomfortable. I will trust Him.

What are you trusting for?

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 ESV

xoxo