Digging the Word, and IN the Word

I remember when I started my nursing career, I thought all those initals after a nurse's name was too much, such as, SoandSo Burns, RN, MSN, RRT, ACNP, CCRN, FAAN, FCCM, FAANP. For real! Really! Those are actually someone's professional suffixes! All those abbreviations are certifications that someone studied and took an exam for--EACH. As a new nurse, I said I'd be happy with just RN, BSN after mine. I don't want to do anymore studying. I'm all studied out. ..Yeah..., didn't stay that way. I was writing an email today, and then I noticed the alphabet soup after my name as well. Did I take that many tests for those letters?! Worse yet, I'm studying for another one! On the positive side of it all, it's nice to know that you have nurses with all those letters backing up their name, because you know they worked hard, and know a lot about their specialty. So, onward to my next certification, so I can say I conquered my fear of Neuro patients, and I'll be certified to say "I know what I'm doing."

If only we would be willing to study and learn the Word like that. Not to put initials by our names, but to have the Word of God in our hearts. That's more lasting than any external reward. Can we say that we read and dig into the word daily in our busy lives? I can't. Every day, I wanted to open my bible, but had another reason to set it aside to catch up with other things in my life, and then I've set it aside almost altogether. I couldn't remember the passages and God's promises that refreshed and redirected me many times before, when I needed them the most. It was like a vague memory. That jolted me awake on how much I set aside my bible for my distractions. We need to sink our spiritual teeth into the word like its fresh bread daily, and savor it. If we set it aside, the passages we remembered will be a stale as week old bread, and hard to remember the verses that once encouraged, taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained us in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) Jesus even said:

"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Matt 4:4 (Deut 8:3)

For the past 2 Sundays, the pastors at my church preached about studying the Word, and it's ignited a desire in each of us to grab our Bibles and dig into the Word. There's so much treasure to be found in the Word if you are ready and willing to dig for it. "They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;" (psalm 19:10) Let's get digging, and see what treasures the Lord has waiting for us.

I may not receive initials after my name for reading God's Word, but I know what's engraved in my heart, like certifications of His Promise to me. We don't need to pass a test to receive His Promise. We're already certified by His Word and covered by His Grace.

Leona Baxter, DOK, COG, HSIHP, LWAEL

DOK: Daughter of the King (Ex. 6:7, Pslam 10:16, Psalm 103:19, Eph 1:5, heb 12:5-9)

COG: Child of God (John 1:12-13)

HSIHP: His Sheep of His Pasture (John 10:2-11,14-16)

LWAEL: Loved with An Everlasting Love (Jer 31:3-4, Psalm 103:17-18, Eph 2:4,)