Day 7 – Springboard

“Happy is the man who does not walk in the way sinful men tell him to, or stand in the path of sinners, or sit with those who laugh at the truth. But he finds joy in the Law of the Lord and thinks about His Law day and night. This man is like a tree planted by rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time and its leaf never dries up. Whatever he does will work out well for him.”
Psalm 1:1-3

Recently, I had been reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” to my eight-year-old son each night before he went to bed. It was fun to see the delight in his eyes as he became enthralled with the story, envisioning each step of the journey in his imagination, laughing in appropriate places, worrying about the well being of the characters, and ultimately hoping for the hero (Bilbo Baggins) to come through in the end. As we finished the last page, he said, “I can’t wait to read that to my kids! I’ll tell them, ‘my dad read it to me and I’m reading it to you’.” In that moment, I knew that something special had happened; a father and his son had made a meaningful connection through something as simple as reading a book together. Something in our relationship changed, if only slightly, by this shared experience.

The funny thing is, I knew that would happen. It’s partially why I read the book to him in the first place, knowing that this simple act between us would springboard us into a kind of relationship we didn’t have before.

I think that’s why we have God’s Word – to be a springboard.

Isn’t it odd how so many people claim to be followers of Christ and so few people spend any time reading His Word? It’s no wonder then that there are so many Christ-followers who are struggling with desire for God and with living for Him. I talk to so many people who are shallow in their faith, and invariably, to the person, they don’t read God’s Word.

In the Psalm above, David speaks of the person who not only reads God’s Word, but also finds joy in it. Reading the Scriptures for this person is not just a duty to be performed during a quiet time, or something done each week when the pastor says, “turn in your Bibles to….” Reading the Scriptures is something they anticipate and think about day and night. This person loves God’s Words. And do you want to know why? Because God’s Word is a springboard. It is designed to make a meaningful connection between a Father and His child, simply by reading His Book together. God knows that each time we come the Scriptures, and allow them to springboard us off the page into conversation with Him, then something in our relationship will change, if only slightly, by this shared experience.

So how do we use God’s Word as a springboard?

Let’s take the passage above. Using God’s Word as a springboard means to use the Scriptures to prompt us into conversation with God. So rather than simply reading the passage and moving on, we begin to make it relational. We read, “Happy is the man who does not walk in the way sinful men tell him to, or stand in the path of sinners, or sit with those who laugh at the truth.” And then we pray, “God, your Word says that I will be happy if I choose not to follow the ways of those around me who would lead me away from you. I confess that I am easily swayed by the crowd and ask you to help me to not give in to those moments where I would let my spiritual guard down, just to fit in with those around me.” Then we read, “But he finds joy in the Law of the Lord and thinks about His Law day and night.” And we pray, “God help me to find your Word to be a joy and not a burden. Help me to think about your Words and not just hear them and know them, but do them. Let your commands and your expectations of me be what I think of day and night.”

By allowing the Word of God to springboard us into conversation with God, we move beyond simple stories of right and wrong into meaningful interaction with the One who spoke these words in the first place. He made sure these words would remain all these years, so that He could sit down with you and read them together with you. He knew that this simple act between you would springboard you both into a kind of relationship you didn’t have before.

As you pray today, let the Psalm above springboard you into relationship with God.

• Thank God that His Word endures and that He has preserved it for us to read.
• Ask God to reveal the places where you give in to those around you who would lead you away from the Truth.
• Ask God to give you a love for and a delight in His Word. Ask Him to help you to think about the things that He says day and night.
• Thank Him that He is planting you besides streams that give you life.
• Thank Him that He will produce fruit in your life as you stay connected to the river of Life that is God.