Jesus Abundant Hope

You have to get into the Word of God, before it can get in you!      

Why thoroughly understanding the meaning of a word is so important to understanding the Holy Bible.

Many times in life we miss a golden learning moment, something happens in our life, and incident, a situation, an accident, a lost or disturbed relationship, a change of job, place, or thought, anything that deviates from what we are used to in our daily routine.

We usually miss the lesson through simply not "getting it" or thoroughly understanding "what happened" enough to make the dramatic  incident "work for us" and not against us. There's a lesson to be learned in every incident in life, if we want to learn what the lesson is.

Many times we simply stumble over words that can clarify something, if we knew what they really meant, instead of guessing their exact meaning.

We just don't want to take the time to find out the perfect meaning, and because of that neglect, we have lost the opportunity to gain understanding that will help us in the future. If we don't understand what is happening and why in our lives we will repeat our mistakes and we won't know how to correct them. When we don't use the problem to get to the point we are to learn we lose an opportunity that can possibly leverage our abilities for change.

I remember an incident in my life, with humor, that at the time was devastating, because of my wrong perception of the meaning of a word.

I sent off my first manuscript to a publication. When I first sent it off I was so confident that it would sell, however, beneath that bit of optimism, I remembered a comment made at a Write's conference.

The speaker had said, "Don't be upset when you receive a rejection letter, especially with your first attempt at selling your work. Most writers, even the more seasoned ones, expect to receive enough rejection slips to paper a room."

I was so anxious to receive something back in response to my work, I watched for the mailman anxiously, every day, until it dragged on into weeks, then months.

One day I received the much anticipated letter, I ripped it open and began what would be a letter of rejection, although a thoughtful one. The assistant editor had taken the time to critique my manuscript, and ended the letter with a comment that I should be "sanguine" about my work. She said I should continue to write and submit my work.

I started crying about the rejection of my manuscript, I cried all that evening and into the next day. My poor husband tried to console me but found it impossible until I could get my "good cry" out of my system.

The next day as I reread the letter, I saw that she had very thoughtfully critiqued my work, with the desire to help me with my writing, and submissions. Then it dawned on me that the word "sanguine" was the one that started my crying binge. I assumed it was a harsh word of disapproval.

When I looked up the word "sanguine" I found out it meant, hopeful, confident, enthusiastic. It originates out of the Latin word sanguineous, meaning blood, for a healthy reddish color, ruddy. Any one with a ruddy, complexion was thought to be full of good humor. From that particular distinction was drawn the current slant of the use of the word. Expecting a favorable outcome or dwelling on hopeful aspects. Optimistic.

Suddenly, the word that I didn't understand, that I took to mean something entirely different, was the one that had sent me into a melancholy state of mind, and overwhelmingly took over my emotions. When I learned it's true meaning, it made me ecstatic. What a change just fully knowing what that word meant.

I've been on a mission since then, I want to know every word's meaning, and all the words that are similar and the words that are opposite. I want to know, so I can understand what's working in opposition to the original word or whatever subject in the material I'm reading.

That's why, when I'm explaining material in scriptures, first I learn the Dictionary meaning, then I find the Synonyms and Antonyms. I then write down every scripture about each subject, so I can clearly understand the subject and study it more thoroughly.

However, even more important, I pray every day, that the Holy Spirit, will illuminate the word of God to me as I read it, that he will help me when I speak, so I won't go off track when I'm teaching, and that I will clearly relate the subject matter when speaking, or writing.

When we read or listen to anyone teaching, we have to remember that that particular translation is only as good as the mind the material is being filtered through.

You have to get into the word of God, before it can get into you!

John 8:31-32

(31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciple indeed;

(32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

What was the condition for knowing the truth and the truth making you free? Jesus said, If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples.

Only staying in the word of God, made them the followers of Christ, that could "take in" the words of truth from the scriptures and allow "the seeds of the word" to grow and make their lives "fruitful" in the things of God.

Continuing in the Word of God, is the only means to build up your faith, and cause you to be rooted and grounded in the "grace and knowledge" of his word. Unless the "seed of the word" is planted in your heart, it will not be able to grow and cause your faith to increase.

Unless the seed of the word is planted in "fallow ground" it will not take hold to grow, and flourish. The fallow ground of the heart is a heart that is receptive to the word of God, ready because it hungers and thirst after the knowledge and understanding of God's word.

You must understand the word in order to incorporate the scriptures, that expresses the "goodness" of God, into your thinking and your life. You must thoroughly, understand the words meaning in order to understand the word of God.

~ Joan Jessalyn Cox

                                                                              Copyright Joan Jessalyn Cox © 2013