At the start His Word touched my heart. 

From that point on I chose to never part.

Simply because His Word provides comfort, removes the shame. 

Now I no longer walk in guilt. 

I have been given a new name. 

His Word refreshes my soul. 

He carries the weight once you give Him complete control. 

Even in my darkest hour,

His Word is a lamp at my feet, a light to my path. 

Has the ability to bring me joy that makes me laugh. 

His Word contains power that sets me free. 

No longer held in bondage. 

I can now walk boldly in who He created me to be.

-Rose

His Word. I honestly can’t remember when I wrote this one. I definitely know it wasn’t recently, lol. There was a time in my life when I was not interested in reading the Bible for myself. When I had social media, I would post random scriptures that I’d seen floating around my timeline from people I didn’t know. I would share it on my page as if I had just finished Bible study and knew what it meant in my own personal life. It sounded good, so why not? I found the Bible difficult to understand. There are parts that are still challenging. I will admit, it was also boring to me. I’ve always believed in God, but I never knew who He was as my Heavenly Father. I didn’t have a relationship with His Son Jesus so how could I even know Him?

The Bible tells us about God and so much more. Once I finally made the decision to truly follow Jesus and surrender my life to Him, I began to read, study and memorize scripture. I didn’t memorize it to show off how many scripture verses I could recite. That’s not the purpose of reading. I read to hear from God. To draw near to God. To combat the enemies lies with God’s truth. It’s not about how much you know, but rather how much it’s helping you grow into who God created you to be. His word says that it’s alive, powerful, and sharper than a double edged sword. When you read it, it reads you.

It’s true! There have been countless times when I have been faced with a difficult situation and I go to read scripture. God meets me in that moment to remind me that He sees me, knows what I’m going through, and is there to comfort and strengthen me. Reading scripture reminds me that I’m not alone. Recently at work, I was feeling frustrated and angry about a task I’d been given because I was already juggling multiple things. I grumbled and complained to other coworkers about it. Many thoughts ran through my mind that were only adding fuel to the fire of my frustration. I even had a slight attitude with the person, but they didn’t realize it because it wasn’t very noticeable, but I noticed it and that’s not like me. Maybe the old me. I allowed my frustrations to get the best of me, but the Holy Spirit convicted me and that led me to repent and also confess to the person about it the next day. If I hadn’t, I would’ve been holding onto bitterness for who knows how long and that could have grown into something more dark. That’s not healthy.

The next day I began a five day reading plan devotional on the Bible app titled, “Less noise. More God.” On day one of the devotional I knew it was God trying to get my attention and speak to me through His word. There were so many scriptures the reading plan referenced during those five days. It felt like it was directed at me to remind me of who God created me to be, who I am as His daughter, and how I am to conduct myself as a follower of Christ Jesus and not a follower of this world. Of course, we are all human. We fall short everyday, that’s why we need a Savior. It’s not about being perfect, but rather to continue to make progress as we journey on the path of righteousness.

These following scriptures spoke to me and helped keep me in check. They provided me comfort and helped me to continue to walk in freedom:

✝️“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

✝️“Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

✝️“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬

✝️ “But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

✝️”Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God is always on time. He knows when we need to hear or read something that will meet us right where we are and halt us in our tracks, if we are paying attention and listening. I could have made the decision to lash out. I could have chosen to go around to other coworkers and gossiped about the person. Or, I could have held onto bitterness and stopped talking to the person, but that’s not who God called me to be. I chose to be obedient to Him.

If you are currently holding onto unforgiveness, bitterness, or anger in your heart, I encourage you to pray and ask God to help you become free from that stronghold. Maybe you are battling an addiction to something, I encourage you get into God’s word daily and ask Him to speak to you. To help you. Watch how He will reveal Himself to you and help you to become set free by His truth, His Word.

✝️“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.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.4.12.NLT