where i find my place - The word has never failed me
I received my first Bible when I was five years old, and it has been a deeply dependent relationship ever since. Really...I have lived by the Word of God for as long as I can remember.
The words on those worn pages—though read and reread countless times—are both familiar and mysterious. Passages I have known for decades hold new revelation by the power of the Spirit. This is because God’s Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). That means I don't simply read it. It reads me. It searches the hidden places of my heart, sifts my motives, exposes what needs to be surrendered, and reveals the character of God more clearly than anything else ever could. Again and again, it transforms me from the inside out.
People sometimes ask why I love God’s Word so much, almost as though it is unusual. My answer is usually underwhelming because it is so simple. I love it because it is how I came to know the Lord. I wasn't raised in church, but when I was around five years old, my family attended a Bible church for a short season. I distinctly remember Easter Sunday that year because I wore a brand-new dress, and we took a family picture standing in our dirt yard. Around that same time, I attended Awanas, where I memorized John 3:16. I'm almost certain it was my very first memory verse.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” As I repeated those words over and over, something settled deep within me. Even as a little girl, I knew these weren't just words. They weren't simply true. They were Truth. I asked Jesus to be Lord of my life. Back then we called it "asking Jesus into your heart." I also asked my parents if I could be baptized and have my very own Bible.
Not long after my public declaration and joyful dunking, my family stopped attending church. From that point on, much of my childhood and adolescence was spent alone in my bedroom with my Bible. No Sunday school. No youth group. No Bible studies. Just me, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God.
Looking back now, I can see the kindness and faithfulness of God in those years. He discipled me through His Word. Page by page, verse by verse, He revealed Himself to me. He became my Teacher, my Shepherd, my Comforter, and my Friend.
Now, almost forty-two years later, not much has changed.
When life shifts beneath my feet, I still run to His Word. When my heart is weary, I still find rest in His promises. When I need wisdom, correction, hope, or courage, I still open those sacred pages. And there, just as He has faithfully done since I was five years old, I find my place, my peace, and His presence.
His Word has never failed me. It has been my daily bread, the lamp to my feet and the light to my path (Psalm 119:105). It has anchored me in every storm, steadied me through every transition, and continually reminded me that the God who first spoke to a little girl through John 3:16 is the same God who still speaks today.
Reflection Questions:
What role does God’s Word have in your daily life, and where are you being invited to depend on it more deeply?
When has a familiar passage of Scripture spoken to you in a new way or revealed something in your heart you had not seen before?
When life feels uncertain, weary, or painful, where do you instinctively turn first, and what would it look like to run to God’s Word?
How has God used His Word to reveal His character to you, and what truth about Him do you need to hold onto in this season?
