Pause
When was the last time you got lost — not just turned around for Siri to reroute you but genuinely lost? I lived in a big city back East and worked a job that required me to be all over the city. Pre-smartphones I would whip out the map, take a look at where I was to go, note landmarks, and then be off. I typically did not have trouble finding places I needed to go, and I wasn’t afraid to ask locals for directions. I loved the city and being able to see and learn about all its neighborhoods and quirkinesses was lots of fun.
It was not until moving to Eugene that I found myself completely turned around and lost. Upon moving here, we got our first smartphones that could help navigate all the crazy one-way streets and roads that stopped and started and find little mom and pop shops tucked into the nooks and crannies of the city. I thought that Siri was helpful until I found myself with a dead phone battery and two tired toddlers in the backseat as I traveled Delta Highway that I thought went east to west but was going north to south. By the time I made it home, I pulled out my trusty, physical map to study it. I looked at all the different highways and roads and how they connected, noting all the city parks and my favorite stores. It took getting lost to actually learn how to navigate the city of Eugene.
Reading through Malachi for the first time in a long time this past week, I felt lost as the book includes many names, rituals, and references that do not initially make sense. Instead of relying on other teachings about Malachi to find understanding — like using Siri to get to my final destination — I grabbed a set of colored pencils and read the book again and again and again. As I read it through, I started marking common words and phrases and writing out questions that I had about parts still confusing me. In studying this book, like looking at my maps, I started to see how passages connected. This shed more light on their meanings. Because I took the time to get lost, and then, to figure it out, the beauty of God’s Word slowly revealed itself.
When we spend time in God’s Word — even get lost in it — God says it will not return empty (Isaiah 55:10-11). Instead, those words will bear fruit as we patiently saturate ourselves in His Word and diligently seek understanding. So, grab your Bible and read and re-read Malachi this week. Then come and join us as we discover the truth of who our God is and what He is teaching us in these passages.
— Jamie Harms
Ponder
- When was the last time you felt lost? How did you find your way after getting lost?
- In which book(s) of the Bible do you find yourself feeling lost?
- Which book of the Bible is your favorite? Why?
- Take a moment to look up the following verses and note what they tell you about God’s Word.
- Psalms 1:1-3
- Psalms 19:7-10
- Psalms 119:105
- Isaiah 40:8
- Isaiah 55:10-11
Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, We thank You and praise You for the gift of Your Word that we might know You. We confess that sometimes we don’t understand or feel lost when reading Your word. Please grant us wisdom and insight as we read and as You show us more and more about who You are. Give us patience and endurance to daily be in Your Word that we might take delight in it and it would bear much good fruit in our lives. Amen.