Devotional Day 9: Be in the Word (#fhbloggers)

He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. – Esther 2:7a (ESV)

It has often been said that if we would strictly adhere to biblical principles, we wouldn’t need a welfare system. Esther adds credence to that sentiment. When her mother and father died, she was taken in by Mordecai, who treated her as his own daughter. Mordecai was in a foreign land, but clung tenaciously to his Jewish tradition and, more importantly, to the love for his God. As his adopted daughter, Esther was taught the law, which includes the Fifth Commandment, “Honor thy father and mother.” It was her adherence to that law that not only put her in a position to become queen, but to save the life of Mordecai as well.

It seems to be human nature to drift away from the teachings of your youth as you age. Solomon addressed the issue in Proverbs 6:20 when he declared, “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” It is not unusual to hear someone say, “I can’t do what God has called me to do, for I have not had the proper training.” The reality is, often the only training you need is to be well grounded in the Word of God. Whether or not that was an integral part of your upbringing – make it so now by daily Scripture reading accompanied by prayer that seeks to understand and be in humble relationship with God!

Adapted from the Discover & Respond 40 Day Devotional (http://fh.org/40daysdevotional). Photo by Jennica Reis, used with permission.

I’m impacted daily by how much of the Word has been written on my kids’ hearts. Yesterday evening was pretty rough for our family. I arrived home to a door-to-door salesman (those still exist?) who wouldn’t leave. After the demonstration and the salesman asking several suspicious questions, I forced the person out of our house. Like most families, we highly value security and this incident made us feel less secure. At the end of the night, our oldest daughter came to our room with a sheet of paper with three verses on it and room to write three more. She explained,

“I found these three verses to help momma feel better. I left three boxes empty so she could add three more to help her feel more secure.”

When we asked her how she found those verses, she knew two of them and the final one she found when she opened her Bible. Our girls have learned the knowledge they need is in the Bible and have been studying and memorizing scripture for a number of years.

This is an area I need to work on. Their example has shown me that my lack of regular Bible study has decreased opportunities for me to be in right relationship with God. As I study these 40 days leading up to and on my trip with the FH Bloggers to Guatemala, I pray I continue to grow in this area.