The Word in My Heart

I didn’t have an appointment, but asked to see her anyway. I’d arrived early, before the bank opened, hoping to be the first person she met with. Less than an hour later, we sat across from each other, strangers. She was just a contact name on my monthly banking statement, someone I had never met, but there we were, face-to-face. I needed help, and all I was equipped with was the Word in my heart.

This was perhaps one of the hardest financial seasons that my family had ever faced. Every month I cried out to God for relief and none seemed to come. We were losing money instead of gaining. Investments went sour within record time. Paydays were like taking a quick sharp breath of air before going deep under water once more.

Now, in already lean times, I had made a mess that was too big, too expensive, too embarrassing for me to fix. A gross miscalculation on my part, meant that major cheques we’d written were about to bounce like our account was a trampoline.

On the evening before my visit to the bank, I was depressed, afraid and confused, when out of nowhere, Luke 12:58 came to mind - not all of it, not the exact words, not the book, chapter or verse. In fact, it kind of came to my heart like this, ‘Before your creditor takes you to the judge, get to them first and work it out along the way.’ In that single moment, I knew just what to do.

The next morning, these are the first words my banking officer said, “Mrs. Strachan, I was just thinking that maybe I should call you.”

My cheques, the very ones I cried over, were literally sitting on her desk awaiting a decision, that for some reason, she had postponed making. Just moments before I was ushered into her office, she had been debating whether to call me or refuse the cheques, but the next thing she knew, there I was, waiting to see her. I literally got to her first, just as the scripture admonished!

She was kind, warm and understanding. I explained my mistake and how, it if given a bit of time, the balances would be paid off, and she agreed to work with me. Because of this scripture hidden in my heart, a pathway emerged out of my fear, pain and confusion. Every cheque was honoured, and she allowed us to continue operating from the account while we got the balances sorted out!

There are many references throughout the Bible regarding the uses and benefits of studying scripture, from having guidance, to being able to speak confidently about the faith. However, I especially like what is said in Psalm 119:11.

Hiding the truths of God in our hearts is a powerful weapon, it’s not the act of toting the physical book in our handbags, or swiping through our favorite Bible app to find just the right quote. Having the word hidden in our hearts is the sword that rightly divides every situation. It’s there when circumstances, temptations and naysayers all clamor to drag us into the sins of pride, doubt, faithlessness, idolatry, and much more.

None of us actively plan to sin against God, but in Hebrews 12:1 it says that sin easily entangles us. It’s not as simple as a list of behaviors to avoid. Sin is being out of alignment with God, period! It’s going our own way instead of His; hence it is very easy to be ‘in sin’. The only way to consistently align oneself with God is to know His mind and heart as He reveals it to us through His Word, by His Spirit. When God brought his Word to me, I had a choice to align with it or go my own way. That choice is presented to me and to you, repeatedly, and I want to choose correctly, so I’m treasuring the Word.

Plant the Word in your heart. If you are not reading the Bible, begin today. Just read it, don’t worry about the rest. The Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance not just the popularized scriptures, but also principles that we may not have consciously memorized and ideas that we only observed in passing. He will bring the right interpretation for you, because he ministers to each of us individually, teaching us and enlightening us according to our maturity, timing and season of life.

Study, my friend, so that when He stirs your heart with the Word, you can go the way of God!

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