Have you felt “compassion fatigue” lately? Like you can’t bear to hear of another international crisis, local calamity, or another friend dealing with crushing loss? At times like those, you just want a lifeline. An uplifting movie to ease the pain. An encouraging Bible verse to buoy you. A pithy saying to cling to like a life raft.
Welcome to the human race.
Truth: Last week I binge-watched an entire season of a TV series because of compassion fatigue. I’m grateful that it helped me exhale. But it didn’t solve any problems. Band-Aids can’t stop bleeding aortas.
Pastor David Jeremiah says some people “sip” the Word of God like they sip coffee. They look for a Bible verse they can latch onto or some short saying they can post on social media, then they think they’re good to go. There’s nothing wrong with a sip—unless that’s the only (or primary) way one approaches God and His Word.
God wants us to find more than a sip of inspiration from Him. He wants us to plunge our spiritual roots deep into the fertile soil of His Word to soak up its groundwater nourishment. Our strength comes from drawing deep draughts of His Living Water daily.
You can physically drown in too much water. But can you do that spiritually?
Most people would say you can never get too much of the Bible. I agree … but with a caveat. It’s possible to know the Bible without ever really knowing God. He wants you to be with Him more than He wants you to know about Him. The Pharisees were so immersed in words on a page that they couldn’t recognize the Living Word when it stood in their midst. Many of them also were too proud of what they knew to do any real good for the people they supposedly served. No wonder Jesus’ harshest words were for the religious leaders of the day.
Today is no different. Some of the people who are most knowledgeable about the Bible are also its biggest skeptics.
Two pastors at my church just returned from a trip to West Africa where an explosion of church planting is happening WEEKLY in and around Ghana. Those people haven’t spent years in seminary. They haven’t plumbed the depths of the Scriptures. But they received the Good News, drank deeply from it, got help with basic church organization, and now are joyfully bringing God’s Word to neighboring villages.
I’m not sounding a clarion call for everyone to drop what they’re doing and plant a church. But, as you enjoy your next cup of coffee or tea, think on this: Sip God’s Word? Occasionally. Drink it deeply? Always. Drown in His Word? Never.
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