Staying ‘Spiritually’ Connected During Isolation - Stacy Barksdale

Today’s devotional comes from Miss Stacy.

Staying ‘Spiritually’ Connected During Isolation

When I was asked if I would do a devotional for the Lifecoast family, I will admit that there were so many thoughts and ideas floating around my head that I just did not know what to share.

Even though I have plenty of extra time on my hands to spend more time studying his Word, unfortunately, I was not and it left me feeling anxious and a bit overwhelmed at times.

The Lord gently reminded me that there are many benefits from being actively connected to the Bible. To name a few, it Refreshes us when we are weary, gives us wisdom when we don’t know what to do, and is worth more than gold!

Psalms 19:7-10

The Law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statues of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving JOY to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

9 The decrease of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey form the honeycomb. 

Spending time in the Word can be difficult at times and unfortunately, many may have difficulty getting much from their time in the Bible unless someone is teaching it to them. But God wants all His children to correctly handle the word of truth so that when we read it and hear his voice, we can act upon it and apply to our lives as well as share it with others.

2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth

There are many tools and questions that we can use each day to help us to better understand scripture and please use what is most helpful to you. It is so important that each of us know how to spiritually self feed!

“It is better to teach a person to fish than to fish for them”- I read that somewhere and it just stuck with me. 

1.     Observation: What does the passage say? What does it teach about God ( his character, the way He acts, what He loves ) What does it about people? ( What does He expect of us, how we act?)

2.     Interpretation: What does the passage mean?

3.     Application: What am I going to do about what the passage says and means? What would it look like if I lived out the passage today?

4.     PRAY! Ask the Lord to help you understand the passage and what we need to change in our lives.

Studying the Bible can give us direction, answered prayer, strengthen our faith, nourishment for maturity, build up a resistance to temptation, instruction, conviction, correction and so much more!

Father, Thank you for your Word that refreshes, brings wisdom , changes lives, gives hope and shows us your love for each of us.  May we hunger and thirst after your righteousness!

Stacy Barksdale