Bitter or Better–It’s Our Choice
“O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
How does God’s Word manifest itself in my life? I have been a student of the Bible for a very long time, most of my life if I count the time that I spent in Sunday School as a child. Of course, I wasn’t a serious student of the Word at that time, but, as a child, I did absorb quite a bit of knowledge about the scriptures, at least enough to know that there is a Divine Creator who made the world and everything in it and came to earth as a Man to show us how to live, and that He died for our sins and rose again. Unfortunately, there are multitudes of folks who do not even know that much about the Bible.
For the last ten years, I have followed a consistent study method, spending one to one and one half hours each morning in delving into the most important Book in the world. As I get immersed in the pages of scripture, the world and all of its problems seem to vanish away. As I read about Jesus’ ministry on earth, I can picture in my mind’s eye as He healed the sick, taught the multitudes, and confronted the Pharisees. The pages of scripture come alive when I realize that I am reading about my future. To neglect the Word is to miss out on a wonderful treasure. God will reveal Himself to anyone who diligently seeks Him in His Word.
In this old sin-cursed world stuff happens. Some bad things happen as a result of bad decisions made by folks. However, many bad things happen over which we have no control. These are the things that can “make us or break us”, make us “bitter or better”. The more one knows God’s Word, the better able he or she is prepared to deal with life’s adversities. The Christian musical group Newsong wrote a song with lyrics that go something like this: “You don’t know how much you need the Lord until He’s all you’ve got”. My advice is to not wait until you get to that point, but to rely upon God and His Word now. I truly believe that if I had not had the Lord and His Word in times of tragedy and loss, I don’t think that I would have survived.