MISUSE OF GOD'S WORD
We've all heard the stories about people who, in trying
to find God's will for their lives in a given situation, said a quick prayer,
opened up the Bible, and randomly put their finger on a verse. We wind up
treating God's Word like a fortune cookie.
I remember hearing the story of a Bible school student who fell in love with a girl,
who is now his wife, and in wanting to know if this was the girl God wanted him
to marry, he prayed, pulled all the book markers out of his Bible and randomly
opened it to a passage of Scripture, hoping to hear from God. To his horror the
Bible fell open to a verse in Proverbs that warned against the danger of
hanging out with prostitutes!
Now I've heard of people who have, in desperation, done
that, and they landed on a verse of Scripture that was the answer for their
dilemma. I believe God can do that, but that doesn't sanction that kind of
approach.
In Psalm 119, David talks about diligently studying,
meditating, responding, and applying Scripture to our lives. Don't just take an
occasional "dip" into God's Word, but determine to be a consistent
student of His Word.
