“The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious, I have not turned back.” Isaiah 50:4-5
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We can trust the hands of this Surgeon, this Potter. Though He will not wrangle us down and tie us to His Wheel—or His operating table (whichever metaphor works better for you), He invites us through His Spirit, His Word, to trust Him to make the pain it will require be worth it to us in the end.
There are some of you reading this who are still not entirely certain that a daily ritual of Bible study and prayer is something worth adopting. You are not fully convinced that this sort of thing will give a good enough return for the time sacrificed. May I please give you a little personal testimony: I began writing devotionals as a means toward the end of helping others become involved in and hopefully fall in love with that living and active Word of God that is our lifeline and anchor. I had to do it because, you see, before I began my regular early morning quiet times in the presence of God about twenty years ago, my life looked all right, my vessel appeared on the outside to be useful and functional, and maybe even a little impressive in some respects, but there was some festering unrest inside that needed to be cleaned out before I would have enough room inside to hold the Treasure. In spite of my appearance to others, in spite of my ability to look the part on the outside, this cauldron within burned uncomfortably at times, and I was never very certain how long my inner peace would last. Regardless of my outward appearance, peace was a fragile thing. This fragility and insecurity based upon my self-confidence held the Treasure at bay.
Setting aside time alone with God in prayer and His Word changed my life more than any one thing or person. Many of you well know what I speak of; you know the value of tuning up your instrument before the symphony begins. Every new day we are given is a symphony.
If you have been tuning up, pay attention to your symphony, and see if the melody is growing sweeter and the harmony truer than it was when you conducted it alone. See if the Treasure is taking over the territory of the terror.
