And
further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end;
and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Ecclesiastes 12:12 KJV)
As a new school year gets underway, I am reminded of my time as a student—all
the new experiences, meeting new people, and learning new ideas—the experiences
that have played a role in who I am today.
At the beginning of a new year there seems to be a sense of possibility—dreaming
new dreams, discovering new things about yourself and others. There seems to be something special about new
pencils and new notebooks that harkens to a fresh start full of possibility. Some students may discover a teacher or other
staff member that they seem to “connect” with and a mentoring relationship
begins to develop. While mentoring in
the academic or professional sense is important, there is a mentoring that is
even more important (and the topic of last week’s post) spiritual mentoring.
And further, by these, my son, be
admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness
of the flesh.
(Ecclesiastes 12:12 KJV)
How amazingly true are the words written by King Solomon! Studying does indeed weary the body! Any thesis or dissertation writer would agree
that there is no end to making many "books" and no end to writing many “papers”! Worldly endeavors encountered as we journey
through our school years is most definitely toil—toil that should cause us to
feel utterly weary. However, we will discover
that what we do for the Lord is not
wearying in the same way.
How or when have you found studying to be wearing?
For
in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth
sorrow. (Ecclesiastes 1:18 KJV)
Some students might even
agree that with wisdom and knowledge there is sorrow and grief, particularly if
God is left out of the equation. Living
in the world, pursuing worldly pleasures and worldly ideals is a sure formula for
experiencing grief and sorrow. Think
about all the time and pressures incurred in pursuing a college education—graduation
comes and reality sets in that the world is much different than the academe led
students to believe.
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| Kim nearing college graduation, spring 1995 |
When or where did you
discover sorrow and grief in gaining wisdom and knowledge?
The best study we can do is being a student of God’s Word.
As students and teachers
start another year of learning and growing together, we too, can renew our
commitment to studying the Word of God.
However, we need to do more than simply read and study; we need to apply
what we are learning to our lives. Reading
and studying God’s Word really should not exhaust us (at least not in the way
we were accustomed to as students elsewhere).
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| Personal Photo |
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| Personal Photo |
For those of us who preach,
teach, and write about the Word of God, we will be held to a higher standard by
Him (see James 3:1); therefore, we would be wise to heed Paul’s admonition to
his spiritual son, Timothy:
Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
(2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)
Do not become weary with too
much reading, studying, doing that you neglect sitting quietly waiting on God and His still small voice. It is here that we find rest for our
weariness, a balm for our aching, hurting soul.
In this quiet, secret place as we commune with the Lord and He communes
with us, we discover refreshment that our entire beings crave; yet rarely find
in this noisy and busy world.
If you are interested in
getting into God’s Word, I encourage you to do so and check out this year’s 50 Day Spiritual Adventure. (Readings for the week of September 11 will
be posted early morning September 11, 2016.)
What portion of Scripture
does God have you studying?
Please join with me in
prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank
You for the most amazing gift of Your Holy Word. It truly contains all we need to live the
life You have given us. Please give us
an ever deepening hunger for Your Word; help us to study it diligently and not
grow weary. Guide us in our study and
application of Your Word, so we do not wear ourselves out with much study of
things not of You. For those of us who
preach, teach, and write about Your Word, help us to be diligent in our study
and to rightly divide the Word of God.
In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
