The Wondrous Word

Psalm 119:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.


It is easy to take having access to the Bible for granted. Many around the world cannot get a Bible. When you have one, or in my case multiple translations, you can lose the excitement and enthusiasm. Think about it. God took time to inspire and reveal His word to human authors who penned it. Through the ages that collection of books has been preserved in the Bible for us to enjoy. Some died so that we could have an English translation of the scriptures.

All that truth has been preserved for us to study, read and reflect. Anytime we read the Bible we are in essence having an encounter with God, because it is His message we read. The Bible is not like other books. It is a living book. It's sharp like a two edged sword. It penetrates people.

Shouldn't we be exuberant to read it day after day. Look at the Psalmist's prayer. First, he asks that his eyes might be opened. He is not talking about vision here. This is not our physical eyes, but rather our spiritual eyes. The author is asking for open spiritual eyes to understand more and deeper truth. There are hidden nuggets of truth in God's word that will not be discovered unless God reveals them. We should pray for God to open our eyes.

We need our eyes opened to behold. That word has a great many meanings. It means to become aware, to encounter, to examine and to give attention to. Think about it. When we crack open the pages of the sacred book, we have a chance to examine God's truth, and to have an encounter with Yahweh at the same time. The serious study of the scriptures is something we need to devote ourselves to. Why?

There are wondrous things contained in those pages. The word wondrous is pregnant with meaning. It means astounding, surpassing, extraordinary, marvelous and difficult things. Is that our attitude when we read our devotions? Have we asked God for supernatural spiritual vision as He reveals wondrous truth? Are we ever caught up in the wonder of His truth. How He can take a timely word and apply right to our hearts and lives where we live is an incredible experience.

I fear we take a much more casual cavalier approach to the word of God. How I pray God would convict us and renew our eager encounters in God's word revealed to us. May we take full advantage of that word. Millions around the world wish they had just a chapter of God's wondrous word. May our eyes be opened to see more extraordinary things in this new year than we have ever seen before.