Gut Punched By Scripture

Rued by Romans (Rude!) Series

A violent metaphor, I know. But it’s quite a feeling when Scripture reads you while you’re reading it. This week’s experience with Romans took my breath away.

It caused me to wrestle with my twisted idea of who God is - a God waiting to catch me doing wrong, or a God full of the grace and mercy his son died for me to have.

Intellectually, I know he’s a God of grace and mercy. But the authoritarian parent style I grew up with formed God as one who can’t wait to punish me.

Getting past that isn’t easy. Especially when the Bible says God chastens those he loves. But that’s not the whole story, nor is that the totality of who he is.

I have to admit, I do love how Romans spoke to my situations day after day. It makes me feel like God is paying attention.

How do I get into position for God to speak to me through Scripture?

What exactly is my reading and reflection method that allows me to be read by it?

I use a small piece of the Bible, usually just a verse. I read it over a number of times. If the relevance of the verse doesn’t strike me right way, I read the chapter that contains the verse—nice and slow. I take notes, like what stands out and thoughts that the verses and or chapter bring to mind. If the Scripture is still dry, I bust out my NIV study bible and look at the appropriate notes on the chapter.

And oh, I forgot to mention, I pray.

Be encouraged. You may not get anything right away, maybe for a few days. But ‘running Scripture over your mind’ causes you to understand it better as you do so on a regular basis and you will be able to hear from the spirit more clearly.

Certain sentences will stand out to you. That’s important. Underline them and write them down. That may be the beginning of the process. That’s the Holy Spirit highlighting something you need to know.

To start, the SOAP method may be helpful: Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer.

The method gives you a system for revelation.

How do you know what to read?

There are a number of reading plans available online, you can google, ‘bible reading plans.’
There’s a one-year bible that is formatted for daily reading. Or you can simply pick a book of the bible, I would recommend a short one, like Mark, and go through it verse by verse or chapter by chapter.

The Word says God causes all things to work together for our good. So though I felt like a mouse caught in the cheese of sin this week, I must trust and believe that it will all work out for my good. And that God will use the exposure of my flaws for good.

If this happened to you as well, know it’s not to punish us, but to set us up for the fount of blessings he has for us.

I can think of one in particular, though I have to wait a while to share the specific details. But when I meditate on gratitude, there are so many small blessings as I go through my day to consider.

Like smokin’ hot coffee.

Shout out to Mel, my barista. She makes me feel like I’m walking into the Cheers bar, as she always knows my name.

Plus, she gets out my coffee order in a hurry when she’s on the coffee machine.

I see her as a spout for God’s blessing to pour out on me.

Grace and grounds.