The Value Is in Opening It
I heard a story recently that really spoke to me, and I want to share it with you.
There was a young man who committed a crime and found himself in jail. Desperate and in need of money, he called his mother.
“Mama, I need your help. I’m in jail, and I need you to send me some money.”
A few days later, a package arrived from his mother. Excited, he opened it, only to discover that she had sent him a Bible with a simple note:
“Son, read your Bible and pray.”
Frustrated, he called his mother.
“Mama, I told you I needed money! I’m desperate, and you sent me a Bible? I know that’s how you raised me, but I need help!”
His mother simply asked, “Son, have you read your Bible? Have you prayed?”
He replied, “No.”
She said, “Read your Bible and pray.”
A year passed, and the young man was finally released from jail. He went to see his mother, still carrying some bitterness over what he believed was her unwillingness to help him.
“Mama, I needed you. I asked you for help, and all you sent me was a Bible.”
His mother looked at him and asked, “Son, did you ever read your Bible?”
He replied, “Well, I prayed.”
She took the Bible, opened it, and began turning the pages.
At the beginning of every one of the 66 books of the Bible, she had placed a $100 bill.
There was $6,600 sitting inside that Bible the entire time.
Everything he had been asking for was right there in his hands, but he never opened it to discover what was inside.
And that’s where this story really hit me.
How many of us are doing the exact same thing with God?
We cry out to Him in desperation. We pray for answers, direction, wisdom, peace, healing, and provision. We ask Him to show us what to do, to help us through our struggles, and to give us strength.
But how often do we open His Word to discover what He has already given us?
That young man received the Bible, but he never discovered the value his mother had placed inside it.
And so many of us have received the Word of God but have never truly discovered the value our Heavenly Father has placed within it.
Think about that.
God has given us 66 books filled with wisdom, instruction, correction, encouragement, promises, and the revelation of His love for us through Jesus Christ.
Yet we sometimes treat the Bible like something we carry rather than something we live by.
We pray for peace, but never open the Scriptures that teach us how to find peace in Christ.
We pray for wisdom, but never study the Word that teaches us how to walk in wisdom.
We pray for strength, but never spend time learning about the One who strengthens us.
We pray for direction, but leave the very book that illuminates our path sitting unopened.
Prayer is how we speak to God, and His Word is one of the primary ways He speaks to us.
Don’t misunderstand me. God is not hiding blessings between the pages of Scripture like that mother hid money. His Word is far more valuable than anything money could ever purchase.
But we cannot grow in our understanding of what God has revealed if we never take the time to read, study, and apply it.
Scripture for Today
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
James 1:22 (NKJV)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
My Challenge to You Today
Don’t just own a Bible. Open it.
Don’t just read a verse. Study it.
Don’t just study His Word. Apply it.
And don’t just pray for God to change your circumstances. Ask Him to change your heart through what He has already revealed.
Because here’s the thought I want to leave you with:
The young man spent an entire year asking for something that had been within his reach the whole time.
How many of us are spending years searching for answers that God has already placed in His Word?
You cannot discover the treasures within God’s Word if you never open it. And you cannot experience its transforming power in your daily walk if you refuse to live by it.
Open your Bible. Pray. Study. Listen. Obey.
You might be amazed at what you’ve been missing.
Have a blessed day!
Rev. Carlos Figueroa
TheFreeBible.org |
