So how does one study diligently? What does this mean? Paul writes, “Do
not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind.” The Message version puts it this way: “Don’t become so well adjusted
to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on
God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you,
and quickly respond to it…God brings the best out of you, (he) develops well-formed
maturity in you.”
How do you fix your attention on Him? How is our mind transformed?
One major way is spending daily time reading and studying the Bible - the inspired,
divinely authoritative, infallible Word of God. There is no better wayto learn who God is
and what He thinks about the world than to read His Word. One author put it this way –
“the goal is not to get us through the Bible but to get the Bible through us”. If you’ve
never consistently spent time studying the Bible, today’s a great day to start. Check out
the "Bible Study Tips for Beginners" article for some ways to get started.
But I believe studying diligently is more all-encompassing than studying the Bible.
It
means learning to look at your life through God’s eyes. Diligently study your life through
God’s lens. How are your seemingly mundane situations fleshing
out what you’re reading
in Scripture?
Over the Christmas break I spent time helping put together a jigsaw puzzle.
As
I worked
on it, I had some very clear ideas of where a piece should go,
but it didn’t always fit.
Sometimes I’d even try to bang it in and make it fit. Guess what? It still didn’t fit! That
spoke to me about a situation I’ve struggled with all year long. I keep pushing at it to fit in
one way, and it wasn’t working out. I felt God telling me that I need to keep trusting that He
has the piece that will fit and
He’ll help me find it at just the right time. And the wonder of
putting together a complicated jigsaw puzzle is that when that unique piece is set in place
the boundary lines disappear and colors flow from one piece to the next. It becomes so
obviously right. Cramming my pieces in puts me in the position of puzzle designer, not the
assembler.
As I grow in Christ, I see those connections with greater frequency. God’s very nature is to
reveal Himself to us in all things. The more I see them, the more opportunities I have to be
transformed – from the inside out, by God’s grace and mercy. My prayer for you this year is
that you will diligently study God’s Word and His work in your day-to-day life.
