A WORD FOR TODAY, June 4, 2024
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 4, 2024
“The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary. He awakens morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear. I was not rebellious. I have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord Yahweh will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I won’t be disappointed. He who justifies me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will help me! Who is he who will condemn me?” Isaiah 50:4-9a, WEB
I spend too much time playing games on my tablet. I have one game that I ignore for months at a time, and then one day I decide to open it. There’s always some sort of challenge that requires hours of play to accomplish the task, and I want to complete the challenge, so I play too much. Once I do, I close the game for months again, because as soon as I begin, I know I shouldn’t even try. The game is a time waster, and I usually open it when I am bored or taking a break from my usual work.
I play other games, though, which I justify because they are brain games. I do several word puzzles in the morning; I use them to wake up my brain and get me going for the day. Brain games are meant to keep the brain young and vital. Researchers have proven that people who engage their minds with reading or intellectual activities stay healthier and happier than those who are involved in mind numbing activities. I know my word puzzles are much better for me than the challenge games.
It is literally good for us to learn something new each day. Unfortunately, most of us do not do enough learning. We go about our daily chores, spend hours at work, then we watch television, play games, or surf the internet when we are at home in the evening because by the end of the day, we are so worn out that we don’t want to pursue anything too strenuous, even if it is just our minds we are using. I suppose that’s why video games are so popular. We like them because they are mindless ways to pass the time. But the right games actually do make a difference.
Sometimes we think we know enough. Some of us think we know everything. We don’t pursue intellectual interests because we think there is nothing left for us to learn that will make a difference. It has been said that everything you need to know you learned in Kindergarten, I even have the book! I suppose in some ways that is true. Common sense can get us through each day which (hopefully) is learned at a very young age. But there is no limit to the amount of knowledge we can have. Why not sign up for a “new word a day” email group and learn a new word each day? Why not try to find out something new about your home state or city? Why not look up the birds that you see in the yard and find out about their lifestyles, habitats, and mating activities? It can’t hurt to know something new, and it is good for your brain to try.
The television news always refers to “experts” to help us understand the news of the day. Those experts are supposedly knowledgeable about every detail of that subject matter. However, how often do we see those experts proven wrong the next day? The wisest people are those who realize that the more they know the more they know they don’t know. We can always keep learning, even if we are experts in the field. As a writer I know a lot of words, but those word puzzles I play each morning help me learn more.
The passage for today from Isaiah is one of the three Servant songs, all of which refer to Jesus Christ as the Servant. In this one we see that the Servant continues to learn even when the Servant is a teacher. God has given the Servant the knowledge necessary to teach but also continues to give the knowledge the Servant needs to do the work He is called to do.
Jesus Christ knew everything He needed to know, and yet we hear in this passage that He continued to be taught. Every day He faced new situations; every day He had to make decisions about how to respond to the needs of the world. And every day He listened to the voice of God so that He would do what God wanted Him to do. He kept His eyes on God even when men were treating Him poorly. It did not matter that they were insulting Him or striking Him. He stood firm, listening to the teaching of the One who opened His ears. He rests in the knowledge that God is with Him, and no matter what happens to Him, God will stay with Him. He has learned that He has nothing to fear.
Anyone who has studied the scriptures knows that one passage can mean one thing to them today but will mean something different the next time. We might be tempted to stop reading and studying the scriptures once we’ve heard it all, yet we will never know it all no matter how much time we spend in God’s Word. If Jesus continued to learn, who are we to think we know enough? Open the scriptures today. Read what God has to say to you. Take time to read study notes or commentaries. Talk about what you’ve read with someone else and learn what they know about that text. God is with us when we spend time learning, teaching us by the power of the Holy Spirit so we know more today than we knew yesterday.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org