Choose a verse, any verse

You have heard of the saying, “A mile wide and an inch deep.” Sometimes our knowledge of God’s Word is like that. God seeks to rectify that by enjoining selective meditation:

“I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:99).

Being human, we can only really meditate on small portions at a time. And I find an interesting principle at work: When I meditate on even one small portion of God’s Word, it tends to draw me deep into other regions of his Word, like tentacles that fan out until they include all truth.

My husband knows my desire to read a lot of the Bible, but he has told me that by this time I have a lot of Bible stored up in me, and that it is more important that I obey what I know instead of collecting more Bible verses I do not obey. Ouch.

So I would like to pass on what I have noticed, the benefit of carrying around a single verse for the day and letting it work on your mind as you go about your business. By way of example, I choose, more or less arbitrarily, a section from these two verses:

“… you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven …” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

This is enough food for days. What else do you need? You are told what you are to turn away from: “idols.” You already know from Colossians 3:5 that idols are whatever it is you spend too much time coveting and dreaming about and scheming to have.

You are given here proper self-image, a summary description of how you are to view your life and time on this planet—as one who “serves.” Right off the bat, this tells me it is a good thing commanded by God to be devoted to serving.

You are also given a wonderful truth about God: that He is “living.” That means He is not the watchmaker god who wound up the clock and walked away. A “living” God is one who is alive, and never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4), and who is involved and cares (Luke 21:18), and who is always waiting to act on our behalf when we bother to approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). Therefore, as you go about constantly turning from seductive idols, and turning to serve, God will not leave you in the lurch.

Choose a verse, any verse. Suck the marrow of the truth from small portions of the Word, and watch it expand in your mind.