He found him out in the wilderness, in an empty, windswept wasteland. He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. He was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing its young, Then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly. God alone led him; there was not a foreign god in sight. God lifted him onto the hilltops, so he could feast on the crops in the fields. He fed him honey from the rock, oil from granite crags, Curds of cattle and the milk of sheep, the choice cuts of lambs and goats, Fine Bashan rams, high-quality wheat, and the blood of grapes: you drank good wine!
Deut 32:10-14
I talk about "spiritual DNA" sometimes. I have this idea that how we were mentored in the faith as a young believer marks our lives. My mentors modeled structure and habit. I thank God for them because I developed a lifelong habit of the morning "quiet time."At that time of the day, I read the Bible through the grid of these verses: with Hebrews 4: 12 (For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword), Jeremiah 15: 16 (Thy Words were found and I ate them and they became the joy and the delight of my heart)and Psalm 119: 18 (Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Thy Law)
I re-read journals during the busy years of raising a family and marvel at my discipline. ("Who wrote these journal entries??")
Lately, maybe it is old age, a little dark night of the soul, discouragement...I've been unable to read the Word in the way as before. I've always studied and that has continued but the devotional reading is out the window.
Five years ago my son Will and his wife gave me what has become one of my favorite gifts of all time, a Zune. ("A what?") Probably most people use the Zune to listen to music. I listen to books. I cannot even tell you how many books I've "read" in this way. (Eric Metaxas' book on Bonhoffer and Downing on Mysticism in CS Lewis are my current favorites.)
Last year, my beloved Zune went on the fritz. I panicked. Tom, in his usual way, gave me his Zune. Then, lo and behold, he mysteriously fixed mine. I kept his because his had the entire Old Testament in The Message version. During these rather dark and cold days of 2013, I've listened to the Pentateuch. I admit, getting through Leviticus about killed me.
A dark cloud rested on me this week. I am a creature of habit (and probably add some guilt in there) so I continued with my routine.
The other morning I turned on the Zune at Deuteronomy 27 and figured I'd finish the book. It was around 5am and I could not sleep but did not feel like jumping out of bed. In a half-sleep state, I listened. I heard something about an eagle and the words touched my spirit.
All that day, I remembered the phrase like an eagle hovering. In meetings all day, taking notes, I return to the passage. I found in Deuteronomy this morning. What an encouragement to me. God hovers over me like an eagle over her eggs. God alone will lead me, even teach me to fly. Well, not literally, of course, but I need help now figuring out what to do with my life in this juncture in my life.
My point is that it is okay to try different approaches work at different times in our lives and even for different people. The fact is until about 100 years ago, most of the world's population could not read let alone have a Bible. How did they hear the Holy Bible? Um? They had to listen. And I wonder too if this is not something that particularly connects with my personality type? You know, the verbal person...
