Day 306

Ezekiel 3:16–6:14; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 26:27

IN OUR READING from Hebrews today, we encountered another very well-known passage of Scripture. Like 2 Timothy 3:16-17, it gives us a clear perspective on why we engage with Scripture every single day:

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

This is certainly a memorable verse, but have you ever considered an instrument so precise that it can penetrate to where soul and spirit meet? And where exactly is that meeting place?

If the soul is the moral and emotional nature of a person, and the spirit is the animating life-force granted by God, then we are speaking of very deep things indeed. This is the place that contains our consciousness, instinct, love, emotion, and conviction. It is where choices are made and our bodies are engaged to carry those decisions out. We might consider this our truest identity.

According to Hebrews, this is how deeply the Word of God can penetrate. It cuts through all of the constructs of personality, all of our coping mechanisms, and all of the hopes and wounds of our lives, speaking directly to our truest spiritual selves.

What else can do that?

Immediately following this verse, we were told, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable” (Hebrews 4:13).

With that in mind, we see the irreplaceable value of the Scriptures. They do not expose our thoughts and desires to God —he is already keenly aware of what is going on inside of us. Rather, the Scriptures reveal what is hidden (even what we have hidden from ourselves), and they speak the truth of —and to —who we really are, at our deepest level.

Let’s be thankful today that God would offer us such a gift and that He would graciously furnish us with the perspective of thousands of years of His involvement. We are each part of God’s ongoing work of redemption, and when we allow the Scriptures to speak to us where soul and spirit meet, truth is being poured into our identity. This is why the rhythm of reading Scripture daily is so vital. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires to the truth.

MEDITATION:

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.