To my Beloved Bible Study Women (and maybe to you too)
Dear Sweet Friend,
It's been two weeks since we were together. Next week "spring break" will officially end and we will resume our weekly women's bible study. Although we won't be gathering in the same beautiful way to which we're accustomed, we will still be together...and I can't wait.
But as I've sat with my study lately I've wondered if we ought to be somewhere other than 2 Samuel. Maybe it's just me, but I've longed to be somewhere other than 2 Samuel. Specifically somewhere not chapters 13 and 14.
Honestly, these days I'd rather study something encouraging from the Psalms, or hopeful from Isaiah. Maybe it's the call to joy in Philippians that we all need. How on earth can we dig into 2 Samuel 13 in a time like this?!
The answer has resonated in my heart since I started voicing the question, but it's just taken a few days for it to reach my head. And it has everything to do with what we believe about reading and studying the bible.
For 6 years now we've been inviting you into a culture that believes the Bible is a book about God. Not a bandaid for sore knees, road map for clueless travellers or magic 8 ball for those who need a quick fix. We are not studying to improve our circumstances or force His hand or to make ourselves great. We are simply looking through this beautiful window He has given us so that through it we might truly see what is real in a world full of counterfeit.
What that means for us is that there have been days, weeks, and passages where we have wondered what in the world can I take from this for today?! Weeks like the land allotment in Joshua, the whole second half of Exodus and maybe even some of those weeks we desperately fought for understanding in Hebrews! In those times we have consistently been reminded that the entire Bible is a revelation of the heart of God, the unfolding of His plan and therefore a needed word for all of creation. Leaning into that produced fruit...even from those difficult passages didn't it? Who knew land allotments could inspire so much hope!?
And there's more. As we've looked through this window that is the bible, as we see God and His plan unfold throughout history, we've grown to know Him more while simultaneously seeing all the ways He cannot be known! This strange tension has produced a beautiful byproduct in us: awe. Awe in this big God, the most interesting and compelling being in all of time. The God who cannot be known, yet reveals himself so kindly to those who ask. The One who is completely "other" in His wisdom, strength and holiness and yet draws intimately close to His children in spite of their woeful lack. The understanding that His presence is with us, even IN US radically reorients our priorities!
We look for these timeless truths in whatever we study and we declare them to be treasures we must faithfully deposit - like into a vault - knowing that they will be there to draw on in our time of need.
I think I can safely say...our time of need has come.
Friends, this is what we've been training for.
All those truths about the character of God, the greater vision for the upside down kingdom, the spiritual truths that make an earthly difference; things like covenant(Hebrews) and temple(yep, Exodus again) and presence(thanks Haggai!). Now is the time that our study - to know God...No, to LOVE God will bear fruit. It will appear in your conversations with nervous neighbours, in your current prayers of lament, and in the way you talk to yourself through fear and anxiety. That fruit might look like gratitude in the face of what appears to be insufficiency, peace in the middle of panic and even genuine love that puts the needs of those closest to you (seriously, sometimes too close!) before your own.
So maybe this week you need to pull out some of our old studies. Perhaps you need a reminder of what the Spirit did in your heart as you spent time in different parts of the bible. It might be as easy as flipping through your bible and paying attention to the markings in your margin. Spend a bit of time asking the Spirit of Jesus to lead you in withdrawing some of those deposits, and then let Him reveal those truths anew in your heart. I'm not asking you to believe harder, but to actually ask the Spirit to do what Jesus promised He would do in John 14:26. Write your thoughts, your thanksgiving, your way forward in application of old truths become new. Maybe remind some of your study friends of those truths. They might be inspired to make some withdrawals of their own.
Then let's get back into the story of 2 Samuel this week and make some more deposits. Let us lean into this great God we are learning to know and love, and remember that in spite of the brokenness and instability of the kingdom of man...we belong to a new and better kingdom. And our King will not withhold his steadfast love from us. When our world shakes and idols around us coming crashing down, He is not moved. Though we feel alone and even isolated in many ways, He is not far from us.*
And in the face of great threat and uncertainty let us say with King Jehoshaphat,
So much love to you,
KaraLyn
*And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26-27
* Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:
It's been two weeks since we were together. Next week "spring break" will officially end and we will resume our weekly women's bible study. Although we won't be gathering in the same beautiful way to which we're accustomed, we will still be together...and I can't wait.
But as I've sat with my study lately I've wondered if we ought to be somewhere other than 2 Samuel. Maybe it's just me, but I've longed to be somewhere other than 2 Samuel. Specifically somewhere not chapters 13 and 14.
Honestly, these days I'd rather study something encouraging from the Psalms, or hopeful from Isaiah. Maybe it's the call to joy in Philippians that we all need. How on earth can we dig into 2 Samuel 13 in a time like this?!
The answer has resonated in my heart since I started voicing the question, but it's just taken a few days for it to reach my head. And it has everything to do with what we believe about reading and studying the bible.
For 6 years now we've been inviting you into a culture that believes the Bible is a book about God. Not a bandaid for sore knees, road map for clueless travellers or magic 8 ball for those who need a quick fix. We are not studying to improve our circumstances or force His hand or to make ourselves great. We are simply looking through this beautiful window He has given us so that through it we might truly see what is real in a world full of counterfeit.
What that means for us is that there have been days, weeks, and passages where we have wondered what in the world can I take from this for today?! Weeks like the land allotment in Joshua, the whole second half of Exodus and maybe even some of those weeks we desperately fought for understanding in Hebrews! In those times we have consistently been reminded that the entire Bible is a revelation of the heart of God, the unfolding of His plan and therefore a needed word for all of creation. Leaning into that produced fruit...even from those difficult passages didn't it? Who knew land allotments could inspire so much hope!?
And there's more. As we've looked through this window that is the bible, as we see God and His plan unfold throughout history, we've grown to know Him more while simultaneously seeing all the ways He cannot be known! This strange tension has produced a beautiful byproduct in us: awe. Awe in this big God, the most interesting and compelling being in all of time. The God who cannot be known, yet reveals himself so kindly to those who ask. The One who is completely "other" in His wisdom, strength and holiness and yet draws intimately close to His children in spite of their woeful lack. The understanding that His presence is with us, even IN US radically reorients our priorities!
We look for these timeless truths in whatever we study and we declare them to be treasures we must faithfully deposit - like into a vault - knowing that they will be there to draw on in our time of need.
I think I can safely say...our time of need has come.
Friends, this is what we've been training for.
All those truths about the character of God, the greater vision for the upside down kingdom, the spiritual truths that make an earthly difference; things like covenant(Hebrews) and temple(yep, Exodus again) and presence(thanks Haggai!). Now is the time that our study - to know God...No, to LOVE God will bear fruit. It will appear in your conversations with nervous neighbours, in your current prayers of lament, and in the way you talk to yourself through fear and anxiety. That fruit might look like gratitude in the face of what appears to be insufficiency, peace in the middle of panic and even genuine love that puts the needs of those closest to you (seriously, sometimes too close!) before your own.
So maybe this week you need to pull out some of our old studies. Perhaps you need a reminder of what the Spirit did in your heart as you spent time in different parts of the bible. It might be as easy as flipping through your bible and paying attention to the markings in your margin. Spend a bit of time asking the Spirit of Jesus to lead you in withdrawing some of those deposits, and then let Him reveal those truths anew in your heart. I'm not asking you to believe harder, but to actually ask the Spirit to do what Jesus promised He would do in John 14:26. Write your thoughts, your thanksgiving, your way forward in application of old truths become new. Maybe remind some of your study friends of those truths. They might be inspired to make some withdrawals of their own.
Then let's get back into the story of 2 Samuel this week and make some more deposits. Let us lean into this great God we are learning to know and love, and remember that in spite of the brokenness and instability of the kingdom of man...we belong to a new and better kingdom. And our King will not withhold his steadfast love from us. When our world shakes and idols around us coming crashing down, He is not moved. Though we feel alone and even isolated in many ways, He is not far from us.*
And in the face of great threat and uncertainty let us say with King Jehoshaphat,
"Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."*
So much love to you,
KaraLyn
*And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26-27
* Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir...we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:5-12niv
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