The Unveiling of the Word

The unveiling of the Word.

Psalms 119:130
¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple. (NIV)

Two pervasive, almost competing themes, in Scripture are the austerity of God versus the opulence of God. A continual tug of war exists between the lavish giving and harsh miserliness. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. It is frustrating to us and the burden of our Good Father.

When sin entered into man, it sprung from a dark thought that God had withheld something good from Adam and Eve. God had forbidden something described as wonderful by the serpent. “Why would God withhold something so wonderful,” I imagine was a question brought up by Eve to Adam. Of course, in the end, the serpent had deceived and what seemed good was deep destruction. Nevertheless, the thought had entered into man: “What if there is something better that God has forbidden?”

This mindset, now embedded in the soul of every human, directs our focus to what God has forbidden thinking it must be better than what He has given. We look for forbidden fruit to bring fulfillment to our lives. But to look beyond what God has given freely is to look beyond God. It is a quest for fulfillment in the created things of the human realm. All of this while our soul suffers the loss of fulfillment that can only come from communion with God.

The damage of the forbidden fruit was not the loss of paradise. It was the loss of communion.

Humanity’s lack of fulfillment is the result of a communion ripped and tattered. Even for believers, the temptation is great to seek fulfillment in created things. The Word and wisdom of God help us position ourselves for greater blessing in this world so even the wisdom of God can tempt us away from communion. How does the Lord help us escape this trap? He slowly and steadily unveils His Word.

To bestow us with full wisdom in a moment would feed our sinful propensity to use His wisdom for our pleasure. So, He rolls it out slowly. In this way, we never have enough wisdom to lean on the wisdom itself. He leaves us needing more to bring us back to Him so that we can experience the fulfillment that can only come from communion with Him.

Prayer: Lord, let me not be frustrated when I am confused about my life but to use my confusion to pursue communion with You. Amen.