Growth Through Study

Written as one of 15 talks for Walk to Emmaus, Puget Sound, Washington

My son hates to study, thinks it's nonsense or just a bunch of tired words in old books. My daughter studies because she likes to associate with the brainier, more popular girls in school. My mother taught junior high and my father was a principal—so I had to no choice but to get good grades. I studied only because it was expected of me.

Yet, I love to learn. Learning is to me the most energizing, liberating, and uplifting of the human activities. When I make a breakthrough, I feel so so blessed, so alive.

One afternoon, when my wife's nephew was finishing his doctorate, he said the same thing about study. He made me think—what is the difference between his love of study and my love of learning—we accomplish the same thing.

And I've always envied my pastors—they know so much about God's word. I known they derive much of their knowledge directly from God's word through study, especially study of the scriptures and the Bible. I learn from their studies.

But, me—me study the Bible—it wasn't something I ever wanted or knew how to do.

Study is central to being a Christian

Study moves me closer to the realization of Jesus as the model of my life. Jesus is the rock to which I've been clinging as the raging floods of life try to sweep me under. When I say study, I mean reading the Bible, researching the scriptures, seeking supplementary support materials, and meditating on what God is saying.

In John 8:32, Jesus told the disciples: You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Without study, you'll find the truth only when it whacks you in the forehead with a two by four. Study frees you from negative feelings, from worry, from fear. Study doesn't solve every problem, but it does change your mindset so problems are brought into clear perspective.

Study consists of five parts, whether you view them formally as a scholar—or like me, study because life just happens. The five parts are:

1. Action
2. Practice
3. Learning
4. Growth
5. Commitment

What it boils down to is simple: study is the preparation for changing my attitude and my life.

When I lost my job 21 months ago, I was in poverty—not just the financial poverty of losing my income and having to go on unemployment, but the spiritual poverty of not having something upon which to draw strength. I was so broken that my doctor prescribed anti-depressants.

To be sure, I had prayer and I prayed every day—that's something I learned from my wife, my church, my Christian friends. I had some success realizing that my prayers DO get answered. But I didn't know what to pray for.

Then a tract came in the mail—Our Daily Bread. It contains a daily Bible verse, commentary of someone learned in the Bible, and either some leading questions or part of a pertinent hymn about which to meditate. I don't know why it was sent to me or by whom.

My Bible is special, too, because it has commentary about almost every verse—asides that help explain or offer important considerations, or simply challenge me to further investigation of the scriptures.

I've learned the Bible is the story of God's people, from the first Holy Covenant between Abraham and God—to the Covenant we hold today with God through Jesus. The whole Bible points to Jesus and the redemptive gift He gave us. The Bible is valid and pertinent in my own life. Over the last 21 months, my studies have led me to be a follower of Jesus.

Action

Study is the act by which I acquire the knowledge I need to live and grow.

At first the process was slow. I read my devotional every day before getting up and starting the job-hunt routine. More than anything else, I simply tried to live on a schedule and decided that should include the Bible. I struggled through the first month of my "vacation," then the second …

One day, my devotional directed me to 2nd Corinthians 5 verses 6 and 7: So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight.

My Bible's accompanying commentary said: Paul was not afraid to die because he was confident of spending eternity with Christ. Facing the unknown may cause us anxiety, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, we can share Paul's hope and confidence of eternal life with Christ.

Well, I certainly felt a lack of confidence and fear of the unknown. My job search was stalled right out of the starting gate. I never expected to physically die because of my unemployment—but I regarded myself as useless and discarded. I had no future, no career, no job, and no prospects. So after reading this, I prayed for confidence and asked God to show me a sign of His love.

The next very day, my doctor called and asked me to visit a stress-management counselor. There I gained an outlet to complain. I received consolation, and more important—was hooked up with a career counselor. And the career counselor sold me on an action plan. I started making telephone calls, and within a month, had spoken to 25 business owners.

That's five acts of faith from one Bible verse: 1) articulating the prayer; 2) taking a chance on the stress management counselor; 3) going to the career counselor and listening to him; 4) making the telephone calls; and 5) putting on my tie and visiting the business people.

And Paul was so right! My confidence bounced upward.

Practice

I learned that if I practice the good news, if I study—I grow as a Christian.

As I spoke to all those men and women about my employment situation, I realized I was extremely resentful of my previous employer. I had no idea I carried so much pain—and was appalled when I heard myself spilling it out for total strangers.

Again, my daily devotional brought solace, with Philippians 3 verse 13: Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

The Bible commentary said: Paul had reason to feel sorrow about the past—he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen. We all live in the tension of what we have been. Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of the past and look forward to what He will help us become.

I got up and wrote a report stating what I hated about my old job. When I finished and said everything I felt, I printed it out and tore it up. I realized that I didn't have to hurt anymore about being laid off.

When I told my career counselor, he suggested that I write a parallel report telling what I liked about my old job and what was good about it. Surprisingly, it was many times longer; it took me three days to complete. When we read through it, the counselor said it was the basis for a career statement and helped me organize it into a new resume.

As I continued to make phone calls and do interviews, people responded much more positively to my new resume and my new attitude.

Learning

As I study the Bible, I learn how to cope with life and worry.

To remain eligible for unemployment, I was required to send out three applications per week. I routinely mailed at least eight or ten and my high week was 27 letters. I contacted employment agencies, and I followed up on leads from ads in the paper, friends, and the interviews.

I had only one really solid bite, from a company in Kent which offered me less than I made at the previous job and refused to consider flex time for the longer commute. I worried about the offer.

My trusty devotional led me to Matthew 6 verses 25 to 34, in which Jesus teaches about worry. Verse 26 is the famous Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.

But it was verse 34 which caught my attention: So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

The Bible commentary said: Planning about tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference. Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.

My wife's been giving me the New Interpreters Bible for Christmases and birthdays. Some sections haven't yet been printed but Matthew is in a volume I've received. So, I looked up the day's verse: In the present context,[this] is not intended to discourage planning for the future but to be reassuring: Address each day's problems as they come, confident that your life is in the hands of a loving Father, who holds the whole world in his hands and will bring it to a worthy conclusion.

I suddenly saw clearly that my life is very much in God's hands. So I prayed.

Within hours, the phone rang. A placement specialist to whom I'd spoken the previous week wanted me to interview for a temporary job at Microsoft. I went to the interview, they hired me on the spot, and when I received the contract, it was for more money that I imagined. Most important, they wanted me to start the same day as the job in Kent.

Let me tell you, I see this as a clear-cut answer to my prayer and study. God is taking care of me, and His divine hand is active in my life. That's where study helps, showing me how to seek God.

Growth

Another thing I've learned: I'm either growing or dying and study helps me grow.

As close as I felt to God, I found out that I'm still vulnerable—there's always a next chapter in my life, and a new plot complication from a direction I never expected. At Microsoft, my manager gave me an assignment which upset another manager, because she started sending me nasty emails. The old stress came back.

I prayed and studied, and once again, my Bible provided the answer.

In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2 verses 17 and 18, he says " for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you For we wanted to come to you—certainly, I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

The Bible commentary said: Satan is real. We don't know exactly what hindered Paul from returning to Thessalonica—opposition, illness, travel complications, or a direct attack—but Satan worked in some way to keep him away.

There's more but it finishes, Many of the difficulties that prevent us from accomplishing God's work can be attributed to Satan.

I was stunned, for I realized that Satan was trying to prevent me from experiencing God's greatest gifts, grace, mercy—and permanent work. I firmly believe Satan clouded my manager's judgment. So I started praying harder.

Finally after a week, and more than a dozen attacks, my manager admitted his misunderstanding of the task process. Within minutes, the other manager came to my office and apologized. Satan was defeated.

This taught me another lesson. No matter what adversity has befallen me since, family problems, injuries, the continuing financial issues, and on-the-job situations, I've learned to pray about them. I've learned not to evaluate my own judgment and not to work out my own solutions, but to wait patiently. And Study. And pray. And God has upheld me each time, as my studies revealed Him over and over.

Commitment

As I grow through study, my commitment to God becomes stronger.

As I read each day's devotional, I sometimes say the scripture aloud to myself. Then I review my Bible's commentary and the devotional to see if it applies to anything specific that's bothering me at the moment. If so, I stop and pray right then, thanking God for His personal input and the lesson I've just read.

If there's a New Interpreter's Bible volume, I review its commentary. Then I follow the scriptural links to see what else the author suggests is useful. Then, I meditate on the reading and the scripture. I ask for guidance and strength. When I'm refreshed, I praise God and worship Him through Jesus Christ, before ending my study time.

Whenever my world closes in, I turn to my devotional and the Bible. One day, when I was overly worried about when the situation would change, I was led to James 5 verses 7 and 8: Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

The commentary said: The farmer cannot hurry the process. But he does not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ's return. We cannot make Him return any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work we can do .

During my 10 months at Microsoft, I kept up both my Bible study and my counseling. I was assigned to list 30 achievements in my career and then write a one-page description of how I accomplished each. Then my counselor had me distill them into five-minute, three-minute, and one-minute stories that I could tell when asked at interviews about my past. I did personality traits and values tests, I did practice interviews, I did industry targeting, and I started a different kind of telephone campaign.

In June, I was hired full time by a small software company, doing the very thing I love most, which is writing and working with graphic designers and the media. They were looking for my skills and were impressed with the body of research I've done about myself and my career.

Conclusion

My study has paid off, both in professionally growth—and more importantly—in spiritual growth. I know God is with me, no matter what Satan does to bring fear into my life. I've learned how powerful prayer really is, and how to give everything up to God.

I have a personal favorite verse, one I make sure I repeat each morning following my meditation, and repeat as setbacks occur. It is Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

My Bible's commentary said: The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do His will and face the challenges that arise from doing it. As we contend for our faith, we will face troubles, pressures, and trials. As they come, ask Christ to strengthen you.

Study is one source of that strength, one part of an important trio of Christian tools. Yesterday you heard about living a Life in Piety. Now you've heard how study has helped me become closer to Christ. Putting these together in the coming days will help you become a Christian in Action.

Study is not an intellectual game that scholars play in ivory towers. It's an important function of daily life—without study we cannot become mature Christians in our thinking and acting.

I can tell you my life is significantly different now then it was 21 months ago. My job has changed, my professional growth has been enhanced, even my marriage is different. Life brings continual change, but study helps me face that change. Before, I let the world determine how I reacted. I gave Satan control.

Through study, I've learned to let God determine what I do and who I am. With God's grace, study has brought me to a plateau of stability. Study helps me follow the model set by Jesus, living life as God would have me live it. I know God loves me. I not only learned this truth through study, but immediately experienced that love in my life.