After I took my daughter to preschool one morning, I only had a few minutes to eat breakfast with my son before we had to leave for church. Thinking I could save precious time, I put the oatmeal on the stove before we left for school. It's the quick-cooking kind, but since I make it almost everyday of my life, I didn't think there would be a problem, especially since I left it on low. In the end, my son and I had to eat soggy, pasty oatmeal, and the entire bottom of my pan was coated with burnt oatmeal. I covered it with water to let it soak as I headed out the door to church.
After lunchtime I was preparing myself for a good scraping session because, as we all know, dishes don't clean themselves; it requires action on our part. I was pleasantly surprised when most of the unappetizing leftovers just slid right off into the sink. I thought, "Wow...soaking in that water made this clean up so easy!" And then I thought how the same is true for us when we soak ourselves in the water of the Word of God.
Think about it...when you've been soaking in the Word on a certain subject, like healing or peace or provision, you get a revelation of who God is and your faith builds. James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word (obey the message), and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth." When our faith has been built up and we've applied the Word to our situation, then the gunk from attacks that come can be removed more easily.
As most of us know, some pans only need to soak for a few minutes in order to loosen the crud while others require an extended soak. When we're facing a storm in life, sometimes our breakthrough comes relatively quickly while other times it's longer before we see the manifestation of our promise from God. Either way, it's our job to stay immersed in His Word. We can't just look at the Bible as a nice storybook. Instead, we must stand on it, claiming what rightfully belongs to us as joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
Joshua 1:8 says, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." James 2:17 tells us, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Again we see that in order to be successful, we must meditate on the Word, speak the Word and take action in faith.
Saturate yourself and your situation with the Word. Soak in it. Submerge your mind in it. Allow it to permeate every fiber of your being. Speak it over your circumstances. Be vigilant to back it up with action, and watch it go to work for you, removing the gunk from your life.
