Before, I would rather page through a magazine before reading my Bible. But when I came into a situation that made me sad and unrestful, nothing in those magazines could make me feel better or give me comfort.
I was waiting for transport to my grandfather’s funeral. I was looking at a magazine, but everything in there made me more worried and unrestful. I tried listening to music, but that didn’t give me any comfort either.
I opened the Bible app I have on my phone. The verse of the day was Isaiah 26:3 (NLT): “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.” I read this verse several times. He will keep me in perfect peace. I typed the word “peace” into the search bar, and read the verse in Philippians 4:7 (GNT): “And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.”
I continued to search through the Bible app, reading verse after verse with these promises of peace and joy. No magazine offered me that. I decided to pray to God. Here in the Bible He promises rest, so therefore I shall ask for rest. I started to smile. I was no longer sad, angry, nervous or scared. I was at peace.
An interest that leads to peace and rest
When we become very interested in sport or in a hobby for example, we easily become taken up completely by that. We look for all the information we can get on the subject – look on the internet, read books, talk with friends about it, etc. An interest in God’s Word works exactly the same, and the result is that we become full of blessing and happiness.
Jesus teaches us to have only one interest in our lives, and that is to serve the living God and to do His will. Hebrews 10:5. God’s Word is full of promises which He will fulfil when our full interest is in Him. We will get rest and become happy. It is impossible to be unhappy when we have our interest in God’s Word.
Our goal is to please God, and from that flow the other things we have to do, like work, study etc. It is very easy to place our interests in these things. But our thoughts will be scattered; we will become stressed and unhappy. It’s written very clearly in the Bible that our thoughts should be on the kingdom above and not on this earth. (Luke 12:31 and Colossians 3:2.)
Practice makes perfect
Like all other interests, you don’t do a quick search, practise once, and call yourself an expert. No, God’s Word requires practice, practice and more practice. Every day, from the moment we wake up until we sleep again at night, God’s words are powerful weapons that we use to fight against worry, fear, irritation etc. There is a verse in the Bible for absolutely every situation we may come into. Just by searching simple words on my app, I found help to fight against worry and unrest.
From then on I started to train myself to pick up my Bible when I started to feel unrestful and stressed, and I was quickly at peace again. Then I started to read it even in between situations, just to be prepared for when they come. Now, I have tasted this peace and happiness many times and it’s such a wonderful place to be and stay in.
My interest is now in God’s Word. Only there I can find true comfort, happiness, joy, peace and hope.