On my drive to exercise today, I found myself praying for a friend who was going through a difficult time. As I prayed, the Lord brought back to my remembrance a time when I had gone through the same thing.
It was a few years ago. I had lost a close friend. She died of cancer. The hard part was she never told me she had cancer, even though we talked quite often. There were many times God would put her on my heart, and I would call her. I would ask if everything was okay, and she always said it was.
One night I received a call from her husband asking me to come to the hospital and pray with her. When I asked what was wrong, I was shocked at his answer.
That night I went to the hospital and stayed the night with her. I prayed with her through the night. It was a hard night. The next day when I started to my vehicle, I had a meltdown.
For days, I could not get hold of myself. It was a horrible few day. The following week, I was again trying to get hold of my emotions, without much success. The Lord became firm with me. He told me to pick myself up and get in the word. He told me if I didn’t immerse myself in the Word, this situation would destroy the very foundation of what I believed.
Those words shook me. I began to read the Word. I began to read books about people who had been healed of cancer. I stayed constantly in the Word. Until the hurt of that situation was less than what I knew about God’s faithfulness. I immersed myself in God and His Word through that season.
I shared this with my friend today. And suggested she do the same. I knew how she was feeling…and I knew there was only one way out. To immerse means to engage wholly or deeply to the point that you absorb what you are immersing yourself in.
I love to read devotions, they are great! They inspire and uplift. However, you cannot immerse yourself by simply reading a short devotion each day. If you want real, lasting change, you will need to immerse yourself in God and His Word.
To immerse yourself you must dissect the verses you are reading. You must meditate on them until they become a part of you. Until they change you. That doesn’t happen with a short read.
I stayed constantly in the Word. Until the hurt of that situation
was less than what I knew about God’s faithfulness.
I immersed myself in God and His Word through that season.
It’s much like becoming a character in a play. You study for months this person you are to become. Learning their words, thoughts, and actions. You learn what motivates them. What angers them. You learn all you can about them. You immerse yourself in who they are. Why? So, you can become them.
So, it is with the Word of God. The Word of God is alive. It is His Spirit. It goes down into you. To the very core of you. Changing you. Changing your mind. Changing the way you see things. And in turn, changing the way you react. You become one with the Word. It becomes one with you.
Jesus prayed; “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:20-23)
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” If we are going to become one with God, we must become one with His Word.
His Word heals…He sent His Word and healed us. His Word brings deliverance. His Word brings peace…as it keeps our mind stayed upon Him. Everything we have need of is found in His Word.
Today, if you find yourself in a difficult situation, immerse yourself in the Word of God. It will change you. It will change your mindset. It will change your surroundings. Immerse yourself in Him. Become one with Him and His Word. It’s the ONLY real way to lasting change.
Appoint My Days
I walk in total triumph in every situation, for Jesus has destroyed failure in my life. I am an overcomer and can do all things through Christ. I have the victory and the victory has me! I am a victor and a king! God has caused me to triumph in every situation that comes into my life.
2 Corinthians 2:14, Phil. 4:13; I John 5:4
