It's Elementary...

Lately, my 12 year old has gotten into the FBI shows on Netflix. He likes the mystery, the suspense, and ultimately, the good guys taking charge. Now when he sees blacked out Suburbans, he swears it's the FBI. Lol.

Sometimes, it can feel like learning about- much less hearing from- God is something for the FBI to solve. It feels so far reaching, it's nothing of this world that makes sense, and how could that be real anyway?

God waits for us patiently. He is not a showy God that demands your attention. He wants us to come to Him, but he gives us the decision. A God that can do and have whatever He wants, and He waits for us to come to Him. It's quite incredible... It's elementary, my dear sister or brother in Christ!

When we do come to Him, He shows up. But a lot of the time, if one is just starting out or coming back from a long hiatus, God can seem really confusing. When we read the bible, it might seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Maybe something of ancient times that doesn't relate to today.

If you give it some time, things will start to pull together. When I was going through a really difficult, dark time, I was so thirsty for God that I did anything I could to learn. I was thirsty for relief. I was at my wit's end, and I knew all I had left was to seek God. I started back to church, I read books, I tried to understand the bible. I wasn't really sure where to start. When I randomly looked at something in the bible, sometimes it was great and sometimes it just fell flat for me. I needed more substance and understanding. I had grown up in youth group, and yet it all felt new. So this isn't just for new believers, but also for those that have believed in God for a long time, and are coming back to their faith.

What really worked to help me understand more was to be a detective. When I opened the bible, unsure of where to begin, I started to look up words. I have an NIV thinline bible, and it has a dictionary, or concordance, in the back. I would look up any word that was relative at the time, and see what verses it referenced. I would always read beyond that one verse, naturally (which is why looking up the verses in the bible in any devotional is so important, rather than just reading the one verse in a book).

I would look up anything. Joy. Depression. Comfort. Sadness. Relief. Savior. God always spoke to me- in a sense of feeling comfort, relief, even joy while I was going through a hard time. I also searched out books that spoke of particular subjects. I started going back to church. All of these things started to teach me, which in turn grow faith, and gave me the God confidence (1 John 5:14) to walk about my day, despite my circumstances. The bible started to make sense. I still need my study bible, which explains things in relative terms! But with time and dedication, it pulls together. When you hear from God, you know it is Him because you understand His character from reading the bible. He uses what is written in the bible to speak to you so you know it is Him. Then He can venture off to other things He needs to tell you, because you understand. Do you see how He moves in little steps, never overwhelming or confusing us?

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33

We must always look at our circumstances as purposeful. I would never have said in those moments that going through depression was purposeful. But now I look back and see how so absolutely essential it was for my faith. I needed to be a detective to find the truth right in my hands. That was when I grew up from my 'youth group' faith and came into my adult faith (at age 33!). Don't get me wrong- youth group is essential for kids. It is where it all began for me. But as we become adults and have bigger, perhaps even more consequential problems with no one but ourselves to solve them- we need more. We need to be able to stand on our own faith and let God build it up in us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2: 6-7

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Without that dark time, I'm not sure I would have found the deep truth that brought me through so much more later in my life. I would not have become the detective, desperately searching for truth, even though I had grown up with it. When you're not sure about what to read or what you are reading, or if you're going through a dark time, I encourage you to use your bible concordance (you can find one in most bibles). Look up words, see what the bible says about them.

Be the detective God wants you to be. Find Him there, lovingly waiting for you.

Dear God,

I'm not sure where to begin, but I know to "come near to God, and he will come near to me," (James 4:8). Let me find the answers I'm looking for, and help me be a detective. You are not here to confuse me, but to show me who you are and fulfill my life.

Put it into practice:

Find a word in your bible concordance, or let one jump out at you. Read those verses, and perhaps ready beyond the verse. Let the words resonate with you throughout the day. Write the verse on a sticky note, so that you see it throughout the day. Try to do this every day. Notice when things connect, if something suddenly makes sense, or how it relates to your life in some way. That is God speaking to you.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011

The Holy Bible: New King James Version. (1982). Thomas Nelson. NB: 1982

I am not a Bible scholar or preacher, I am just a girl who loves Jesus. This is my interpretation of things I have learned. I hope it can encourage you and lead you to the bible to see the truth for yourself. :-)