“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8 ESV
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
There are not many sure things in our world. Relationships come and go, jobs provide for a season, all that is temporal has a way of rusting, and seeing corruption. They aren’t meant to be more than they are. They are not to be the keepers of our heart. We are to trust our hearts with a true heart keeper. One that will surpass all time and endure throughout the seasons.
There are not many things we can place our confidence in, but there is one. One thing that is sure, and fixed. It is the word of our God. His word will not diminish as time moves farther away from the place of its declaration. It will not hide when contradictions surround it. This word of our God will not crouch in fear when there comes a season that tests this word in us. It is a sure and fixed word.
This is why we are called to be very careful and intentional in where we place our hearts. If I put confidence in a word that is not sure, my heart will be destroyed. If I build my life on shifting sand, and lay up things that will erode with time, I will be worldly focused and the world will have my heart. I will place no true value on the word which will still be here after the earth has passed away. If I become led by the things that come and go, feelings and emotions, and unreliable sources, then I set myself up for pain and deep loss.
However, if I truly grasp that when it is ALL gone, His word will still be here and if I live out of that understanding then my heart will be captivated and kept by this word.
We are not the keepers of our hearts. His word will keep us if we stay true to it, but even if we choose to place confidence in the wrong things, His word will not lose one iota of its power.
We may often feel like there is not much secure and trustworthy in life, but this is a word that is certain and completely trustworthy.
Today, I am grateful for the unchanging word of God. I am thankful that when He is the keeper of this heart that I can rest secure and unmoved. May this heart be found fully relying on the word that never fades. May this life be found laying up treasure secured in the word of Truth which stands forever.
Comments(3)
Pat McRae says:
March 9, 2015 at 12:40 pmWhen we look at creation we certainly see how it withers and fades. Green grass today, is brown and dries up in just a few days of no rain. Flowers so beautiful, with such vibrant colours soon bow their heads and fade away. Mountains are levelled with one good shake of God’s mighty hand. Healthy lakes, full of life just a few years ago are now stagnant ponds. Fields with soil so rich and promising of great crops are now lakes, because a river changed it’s course of flow after centuries. And then there is us! A young girl lives in this tent 🙂 The sagging, wrinkles and widening just seem to take over 🙁 Yes nothing is forever here on earth! What use to be the best restaurant in town, is now an old building in disrepair. The forest we played in as children is now a condo complex. Even the things that brought us such pleasure in days gone by are no longer ‘the thing to do.’
But, don’t you just love that word! Always means: girlfriend the story isn’t over yet! to me. But! The Word of God is forever! Hallelujah!! Isn’t that the most wonderful news one can receive today. Millions of years from now the Word of God will still be. I have been noticing that the Word given by God to the Israelites centuries ago still applies to me and my circumstances today. Words inspired by David and Solomon still ring true today, and if one takes them and sings them to the King of kings, your soul soars above all the difficulties of the day. Sometimes when I read a letter written by Paul to one of the churches I think to myself Paul must of been reading my mail. A letter of reproof, hope, strength and inspiration just for me! 🙂
Today I am thankful that the Holy Spirit is so opening up the Word of God to me. I thank God that His Word has withstood the worst opposition, so I can sit with it and read His love letter to me. I am amazed and at the same time grateful that the things I have worked so hard to perfect, and understand in this world will all fade. How to nurse a cut with kindness, how to manage a group of workers for maximum productivity, how to answer phones and take messages, will not be necessary in eternity. But, the Word of God, that I have trained my spirit to stand on, that I have hid in my heart, will still be relevant. The Word today in this world that is fading and writhing away, still brings life, light, liberty and love. If the Word is able to do that here, can you imagine what it will do for all eternity, as we live with the Author of this Book?
The B-I-B-L-E!
Yes!
That’s the Book for me! 🙂
(Oops! I only saw the one verse when I looked and then noticed the second as I went to read Pastor Freda’s comments. I only commented on Isaiah 40:8 🙁 )
Susan Craig says:
March 9, 2015 at 3:50 pmFirst of all,I want to thank my Lord for answering my prayer that I would be up before noon today. He not only answered it but did so splendidly since I was up by 1000AM-So thankful for that Divine intervention this morning. We have had a very unseasonably warm weekend with temperatures above 10 degrees here both days this weekend and today is much the same. Even tho these verses remind me of the temporary nature of grass and flowers, each spring we do look forward to seeing green grass and flowers once more after a long winter! 🙂 Everything on this earth is temporary-including pain and hurt and winter cold and summer heat!! Some of these we will not miss but others-the good things- well they are just a taste of what heaven will be like! 🙂 The best is yet to be!!
These verses remind me of John chapter 1-In the beginning was the Word and in Genesis-In the beginning, God. The Word of God existed before the foundation of this world. The Word of God entered into time and space and became flesh! The Word of God also was spoken by God to create the world and the Word of God was written down for people to read for centuries. The Word of God will continue to endure throughout eternity. So the Word of God will stand forever – How significant is that??? It is everything-it is the one treasure that will never fade away-the one for on earth and in Heaven-it will endure long after this earth and it’s inhabitants are gone.
This morning I think of people who have risked all to protect the Word of God- Brother Andrew Murray who smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain is one such person. Remember Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy who were able by God’s grace to smuggle a Bible past the Natzi guards and how that was their prized possession while in the concentration camp? I also think of the translaters and preservers of the accuracy of the word of God. I think of the Gideons who place Bibles all over the world so that people have access to it and in their own languages. I think of faithful preachers/teachers who share and instruct from the Word. Most of all I think of the people who read,listen and obey the Word.
My question today is: How many of us have multiple copies of the Bible and they are collecting dust on a shelf or packed away and never read??? It is a fact that more copies of the Bible have been printed and translated into more languages than any other book in history-it continnues to top the best sellers list of all time. Yet how many people are living their lives by the words written in it?????? It truly is a treasure and should be the most read book in our homes, but is it???
I have been reading my bible daily since this bible study started-something I am sometimes remiss in doing-and if I have learned anything at all from these studies, it is this. I need the word of God daily as much as I need air,water and food for survival-because without it, I will shrivel up and fade away like the grass and flowers. The Word of God is Life to me and I pray that I will always have this in the forefront of my thoughts and actions. Without it we are weak and without it we are lost in a world of lies and deceit that cause us to drift from the truth found in the Word. The Word is eternal truth. When all else fails,the Word will remain faithful. When everything else dies, the Word remains and is life to all who read and obey it. Lord may I ever be mindful of the precious gift of your Word-may my Bible be well read and never accumulate dust on it’s surface from neglect. May I treasure every word written in it and live my life obedient to its truth. Forgive me for the times I have neglected to read it or to follow it’s teachings. Help me to have a longing for the Words of truth and life so that they are the very air I breathe and the food I eat and the water I drink. I am lost and powerless without You Lord. Thank you for the Word of God that endures forever.
Sue Holmes says:
March 10, 2015 at 12:30 amI would like to say that “The ice melts, the snow fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” But I would feel no loss over the disappearance of what has seemed to be a fixture in our lives these last couple months. My heart can & does get excited about the coming of the grass & the flowers. The sun is slowly becoming stronger, the days are longer and the fragrance of tulips & lilies in the stores is a tease for what is soon to come. Memories of digging in the wet soil, selecting the transplants that promise to flood the little patches of landscape with colour, and, yes, even pulling the weeds are what is tugging at me now and giving hope to a tired winterized soul.
But today’s scriptiure warns not to get too attached to even the most beautiful things of this earth that appeal to us. They aren’t permanent, they won’t last and, furthermore, we aren’t permanent fixtures here.
I like the phrase Pastor Freda uses in her commentary, “we are called to be very careful and intentional in where we place our hearts” I find that nothing really happens unless I am intentional about it. Fatique, soreness and ‘urgent’ activities that take longer & seem more important that the truly important prove to be excellent distractions. Our enemy works even harder to keep us distracted from our relationship with our heavenly Father … if we let him.
This is an excellent time of year to contrast the Word of God to what is around us. There is a sense of change in the air. The winter that pulled us down is disappearing and a new set of issues will arise for us to complain about (… black flies, mosquitos, sunburn, etc). Many of us are facing changing health issues. Some face changing family issues and for some change of vocation. But no matter how much changes around us … for better or for worse … God’s word NEVER changes, God’s love NEVER changes and His presence ALWAYS is with us if we make room for Him.
I am grateful for His presence. I am grateful for His word … the one thing I know with all assurance that I can count on whe all else has faded. I am grateful for that feeling of bouyancy that God’s Word gives when everything else is sinking around me. I, too, pray that my focus is always on the God who is the total embodiment of His word. I pray that my focus will purposefully be fixed on the things of Heaven.