Once upon a time, my mum bought a mouse trap to deal with a growing menace of mice in our house. I was still in primary school then and I had never seen a mouse trap before that time. I got home one day, and I saw this contraption. I did not know what it was, so there was no way I could know if it was armed or not. I picked it up, I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The mouse trap did what it was designed to do. It had no way of sensing that my finger was not a mouse. So…I found out by experience that I was not meant to play around with an armed mouse trap.
As at that time, the mouse trap was not a novelty. It had been in production for a long time. I was just the one that did not know what it was. This is the same way we fall into many traps when the word of God has already made a way for us. The word of God has been with us for ages, it is not novelty. However, when we don’t open it to study it, meditate on it and live by it, we significantly sell ourselves short. A little dose every Sunday will never be enough for the journey that we need to face each week and indeed every day.
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1: 8 [NLT]
As Christians, we are not designed to function optimally without a consistent fellowship with God through His Word. We miss out on a lot if we do not study enough or if we study superficially. Also, we could also become very exposed to potential attacks and harm if we are ignorant of the schemes and plans of the enemy. Our defences are planted on the pages of the scriptures.
…To keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2: 11 [NLT]
We forfeit so many things and bear needless pains when we stay far away from the Word of God. We fall into avoidable booby traps even though we already have the map that guarantees our perpetual safety. The Word is loaded with so many promises covering every area of our lives. The more we study, the more we discover these promises and the more we are formed into the image of the WORD, which should be our ultimate goal.
Furthermore….
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2Timothy 3:16 – 17 [NLT]
…We all have rough edges that can only be smoothened by the study of God’s Word. The degree of smoothness that we get to experience and our usefulness for Kingdom priorities depends on how much time we spend with God’s word, allowing ourselves to be worked on. As we are smoothened, we reflect Christ more in all that we do, and our light will shine to an extent that our lives will lead men to God. We will never reach our full potential and fully attain to the level that God ordained for us if all we do is a quick skim through the Word each time. Just like the old song says; “Read Your Bible, Pray Everyday….If You Want To Grow”. This song is for all of us, not just for kids. We should stop making the Word of God to be like a novelty to us.
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