For several years I had been doing devotions using Pastor Wayne Cordeiro’s Life Journaling format: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer (SOAP). One of the keys I learned while going through the Word was the necessity of inviting the Holy Spirit into this devotional time. It sounds very simple but incredibly profound. Two verses will help you understand what I’m getting at. Galatians 5:6 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts” (emphasis mine). 2Peter 1:21 says, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (emphasis mine). Therefore, the same Holy Spirit in you is the same Holy Spirit who wrote the Word.
In other words, if the Holy Spirit knows what’s going on in your life (which He does), then as you’re reading the Bible, which He wrote, He will spiritually highlight certain verses you need to know. It could be for something that will happen today. It could be for something you did in the past. Or it could be something repeated over time you will need to know in the future.
Here’s something I call the Gem of Journaling. As you finish your daily journal entry, you need to title it. This doesn’t sound very important but let me give you the bigger picture. You take that title and put it in a Table of Contents at the beginning of your journal. Over time you will have a list of titles. When you take a look at those titles you will see certain words repeated over time like trust, faith, humility, love, and generosity. As you see these repeated words, you will see how the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you over time. Many times I will title a journal entry not remembering what previous titles were, but when I see all the titles in the Table of Contents, I’ll see a consistent theme. For example:
Genesis 3 Trusting in God’s Omniscience & Timing (Eve)
Genesis 8 Noah Waited on the Lord
Luke 4 Jesus Waited
Genesis 24 Watching and Waiting (Abraham’s Servant)
Genesis 25 Ramifications of Short-Sightedness (Esau)
When I see this, I’ll go, “Hmmm…it seems during this season, the Holy Spirit is talking to me about timing and waiting.”
This is a testimony to the Holy Spirit working in your life. He knows what’s going on in your life and what will happen. He knows you will be reading the Bible He authored. As you are reading, He will spiritually highlight a verse or passage and catch your attention, “Pay attention to this verse! I wrote it! You need to know this! I am highlighting this in your heart because you need to know its truth for the days to come!”
Let me make a short disclaimer when it comes to reading the Bible. There are two ways to read it: as a devotional and as a study. A devotional time is when you read a few chapters a day and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His Word. A study time is when you take a short passage and you go deep. That’s when you take out additional helps: Hebrew or Greek Lexicons, commentaries, or concordances. Some people make the mistake of having a daily study time and get frustrated that they can’t get through the Bible. You need a daily devotional time, then as time allows have a separate study time. If you have a daily devotional time, it is possible to go through the Bible in an entire year.
Questions to Think About:
Do you consistently sense the Holy Spirit speaking to you through the Scriptures?
What has the Holy Spirit been saying to you during this season?
© Gary Lau 2013
All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed, forwarded or duplicated without prior permission from the author.
Leave a Reply