Learning Something New & Amazing Every Day
If we spend time in the Word of God each day, we can be ever-growing and ever-learning. There are hidden riches, mysteries hidden buried within the words of the Word, and it is up to us to discover them. It is amazing the things we can find if we are diligent to spend time studying the Bible. Let me give you an example of something interesting that God showed me the other day that I had not previously known.
Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Luke 14:1-4 (NKJV)
I had read this passage many times before, but I had never really studied out the true meaning of the word dropsy. I had skimmed over it, thinking that it must mean someone who had fainting spells or who could not stand on his own. I was using my own Western mindset and understanding of modern English to translate it. I had only looked at it on the surface and never took time to investigate further. Because my focus had been primarily on the fact that Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath and had to stand against the religious leaders to do it, I had never really considered the man’s condition. Jesus had healed a man of “dropsy,” but I really did not know what he had been healed of!
Maybe you already know what this word means, but it hadn’t been something I previously paid much attention to. I went to my trusty Strong’s concordance and found that dropsy means water. The man had a condition of water? Other translations help us understand what it means- swelling or edema. In other words, the man was retaining water or other fluids. He likely had swollen feet, ankles, legs, hands, or some such extremities. Jesus healed a man of swelling due to water retention! This may not mean much to you, but it was exciting to me. I had overlooked this word and then one day, God illuminated it, and I found a specific condition noted in the Bible that Jesus had healed that I had not previously identified. Of course I knew that the Bible said Jesus went about healing all who were sick and oppressed of the devil, which means any and every condition known to man. However, it was energizing to see a new condition specifically called out. And this particular condition was personal to me. I had family members who had fought severe edema in their feet and ankles, and to know this was specifically noted in Luke as a condition that Jesus had cured gave me an extra weapon to help them in their fight of faith.
God has not overlooked anything we face. He has an answer, a remedy, a solution in His Word to give us the victory. But, if we don’t spend the time and effort to mine out the nuggets of truth in the Bible, they will stay buried and we will miss out on a valuable weapon we can use to fight the enemy. The Word is endless and inexhaustible, like God is, because God and His Word are one. As we take time to learn something new and amazing in the Word every day, we learn more about God.- and it helps us to live victoriously!
