“…Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

“But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Luke 2:10

“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Acts 2:28

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.”

Philippians 1:4

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:2

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Philippians 4:4

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

Words and Meaning

Posted on: July 8th, 2012 by Susan No Comments

I love words.  Actually, it is probably more accurate to say that I love to figure out what words mean.  Where does meaning come from?  Scholars throughout history have devoted a lot of time to answering this question.  For me, the answer can be captured in this way:  meaning isn’t in words—it is in people.  Think of your recent conversations with others.  Chances are that you can think of an example where you gave a different meaning to a word, phrase, or sentence than the other person in the conversation gave.  It is in these moments of difference that we are faced with the choice of whether or not we will consider the possibility that another meaning exists.

In Hearing God, Dallas Willard considers what it means to be in conversation with God and how that meaning rests heavily on understanding our communion with God.  In other words, my relationship with God influences the kind of conversation I have with God.  For example, if I view God as a strict father who is ready to bop me on the head when I do something wrong, I am less likely to have in-depth conversations with him about how I am feeling.  If I believe that the meaning for my life comes from God then I would most certainly want to engage in conversation with him.  It just makes sense that the more time I spend with him the more my relationship with him develops.  The more the relationship develops, the more I am able to understand what God means because I am getting to know him more and more.  Of course, I must point out that none of us knows with a perfect certainty (1 Cor. 8:1-2) and that hearing from God is only “one part of a life of humility, power, faith and hopeful love” he calls us to live (Willard 40).

Knowing what God means begins with knowing what he has already said.  If you haven’t done so in a long time or if you just did so this morning, consider the importance of how reading the Bible could or does influence your relationship with God.  After all, we were meant to live on bread alone, but on “every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

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