Have you ever been in a discussion where the other person or people seem to use words foreign to you? They use jargon unique to them. Maybe you have said, “it is all Greek to me.” Accountants talk about accruals, debits, credits, p/e ratios, burden rates. All words that make no sense to non-bean counters. That allusion refers to the idea that accountants are often overly dedicated to detail, counting every last item (bean), often missing the bigger picture. Have you ever listened in to lawyers talking? Are they speaking in code? Medical terms, they all seem to have at least five syllables.

My wife works as a healthcare social worker. She regularly sits in on a psychotropic drug meeting. While I vaguely understand what they discuss in that meeting, my mind conjures up a completely different picture; that of stoned-out-their-mind hippies listening to Jefferson Airplane or Country Joe & The Fish at Woodstock. Even pastors and theologians sometimes use words that are not easily understood by most people – eschatology, justification, exegesis, just to name three. When we first moved to eastern North Carolina, much of their dialect and language was foreign to me. To this day, I think they have more than 26 letters in their alphabet.  

We all have those areas in our lives that, based upon our background, education, experience, we easily understand. Those things are not Greek to us. There are also those things that on our own we simply do not, cannot, understand. Without help, those things are foreign to us, they are “Greek to us.” One of the things we need help in understanding is when reading the Bible. 

To comprehend the Bible, we need the wisdom of God. I believe that God first reveals himself first through His Son, Jesus, and then also through the words of scripture. And unless someone knows Jesus, they do not have the ability to understand the things of God. John 1:14 says this about God the Father revealing himself through Jesus His Son– And the Word (see John 1:1-4) became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of truth and Grace. 

The Bible is also God’s revelation of himself and his purposes. Jesus taught that the Scriptures reveal who He is – He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:44-45).

First, in order to know God (not know about Him), we must commit our lives to following Jesus. Secondly, since we cannot comprehend Scripture on our own, we need the Spirit of God, who resides within every Jesus-follower, to illuminate our minds. As Jesus was giving his final instructions to the disciples, here is what he told them –And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).

Are you reading the Bible as if it were Greek? Or, are you being led by the Spirit as you read, meditate, digest, submit your will, all while gaining divine revelation and being transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus?

So, to help the Bible not be like Greek to you and to me, we need to be seeking the help of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, asking Him to open our minds and hearts, revealing to us God’s divine truths and promises through the words we read.

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Many years ago, but still etched vividly in my memory, we had some visitors staying with us. These visitors were uninvited and unwanted, but they stayed anyway. Let me explain. At the time, our house was surrounded by corn fields. When the corn was harvested, and as the weather turned cooler, the field mice scattered, looking for new sources of food and shelter. They often found their way into nearby homes, including ours. Each fall, we could hear these unwanted visitors scampering across the drop ceiling in our basement.  

Unbeknownst to us, up in that ceiling, along with the mice, there also lived some other even more unwanted and unwelcomed visitors. Snakes. As we spent countless hours in our family room, snakes slithered only feet above our heads, enjoying an all-you-can-eat buffet of mice. One fall season we became aware of the snakes. Oh no. After deciding not to quickly sell the house “as is,” we hired a pest control company to trap and extract the snakes. When it was all said and done, six weeks later ten black racer snakes were had either been extracted or killed. Oh no.

Even though the snakes had likely lived in our ceiling for years, as soon as we became aware of them, fear was ever-present. Oh no. We were almost afraid to go downstairs. Thankfully, we located the spot through which our many unwanted visitors were gaining access to our house. We never had snakes or mice after that. Oh yes!

The dictionary defines fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the awareness or anticipation of danger.” Even many months after the snakes were finally gone, we had a hard time relaxing in the family room. We still had real fear, constantly looking around, expecting to come face to face with a snake, even though during the extracting period only one had actually found its way into our living space. When faced with real or perceived fear, a physiological reaction occurs in the human body, causing us to either forcibly push back against the danger or run away. We call this the fight-or-flight response.

Fear causes us to be afraid. The Bible also talks of fear; “the fear of the Lord.” Say what? Is the Bible telling me to be terrified of God the same way that I am terrified of snakes? The answer is no. We often see the word fear and frame it through our 21st-century eyes; danger equals fear. But fear of the Lord is not a “scared” fear but a “positive” fear; one of reverence and respect, not wanting to disappoint God. A unique mix of awe and trembling that we feel when in His presence, whether standing at the burning bush, listening to that still, small voice within, or just sitting quietly, away from life’s noise and distractions.

Psalm 33:8 tells us this, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!”

And in Proverbs 9:10, we read, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

In both verses, the root Hebrew word for fear is referencing reverence, respect, honor, awe. In the psalm it is used as a verb (yârê’), while the Proverbs usage, as a noun (yir’âh).

So, you see, fear of the Lord comes out of our reverence toward God. And reverence helps us live the way God desires us to live, and it is really the only appropriate response to our Creator and Redeemer. Fear of the Lord is not Oh no. It is Oh yes!

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Life is not easy. Adversity seems to be lurking on every street corner. Adversity can be defined as a state of continued misfortune or difficulty. If you are not facing some sort of adverse situation right now, be forewarned, it is likely not too far off. We do not always have to go looking for trouble. It often finds us. Nine months ago, out of the blue, we faced one of those moments. That day began like most every other workday, only to end with me in the hospital’s neurotrauma ICU after having suffered a stroke hours earlier. While I have made tremendous strides in my recovery, I will likely have continuing neurological deficits, some level of adversity, for the remaining years of my life.

Oftentimes, when folks commit their lives to Jesus, they think part of the deal is that their life will become free of adversity. They think that Jesus will deflect the flaming arrows. I had that misguided assumption early in my walk with Jesus. But that assumption is far from the truth. In fact, Jesus tells us that life is full of trouble – “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This passage is part of what is called the Farewell Discourse (John chapters 14-17) in which Jesus addresses his disciples, preparing them for his earthly departure.

We are not promised safety from adversity, but rather, safety in adversity. Those are two very different things. Here is what we find in Psalm 91:1-4 – “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”

And elsewhere in the Psalms – “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord” (112:7). Notice what this verse does not say … that we will never have bad news, that the Christian life will be trouble-free. Let’s look at that verse again – “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” In our troubles, in our bad news, because of faith in Jesus, we have a safe place to rest, a secure anchor to hold us fast.      

I believe that, along with waiting, not much tests our faith, and grows our faith, more than adversity. James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote this – “My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, CEB).

Adversity lurks on every street corner. It is unavoidable. Are you building a faith that when it gets tested can be trusted? Or does your faith crumble when adversity strikes? Spending time with Jesus, and meditating upon God’s Word, are two good ways to help grow your faith. A faith that promises safety in adversity. A place of refuge for when adversity jumps off the street corner and right into your path.  

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You and friends are in a sailboat, enjoying a relaxing day at sea. As it gets dark you find a quiet and secluded cove to anchor the boat for the night, keeping you safe and secure while you sleep. One problem though, you forget to drop anchor. While you and your friends are in the boat, it slowly drifts out to sea. From inside the boat, you cannot feel this movement, but after hours of not being anchored, the boat has ended far away from shore. In the morning, you climb up to the deck, only to be horrified to find yourself in the middle of the ocean, not even knowing where you are, let alone how you will get back. Failing to anchor your sailboat has allowed it to slowly, almost unnoticed, drift away from safety.

As you look back over the past weeks or months, maybe even years, do you find yourself asking, “How in the world did I get here?” You find yourself far from where you want to be, maybe not even acutely aware that you have been drifting off course or away from safety. Over time you neglect your physical health and then one day you look in the mirror or get on the scale, and it hits you, you are overweight and in poor shape. You spend hours upon hours online shopping, always finding something you “want,” until one day you wonder how you will ever pay off the credit card balance. You neglect your relationships, leading you to isolation, wondering what happened. Whatever it might be, you have drifted from where you wanted to be, or, thought you would be.

The same can be said of your relationship with God. Your once red-hot faith begins to cool. You slowly begin to neglect your spiritual life, just little by little, until one day you wonder how you got so far away from God.

The writer of Hebrews gives us this warning – “We must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (2:1). Drifting has disastrous consequences – you wake up one day and find yourself drifted outside of God’s will, trapped in sin, guilt, doubt, defeat, maybe even hopelessness.

The apostle Peter also gives us a warning; to be on guard against anything and everything that carries us away from God. “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18). Note: Context for these verses is all of 2 Peter. The “therefore” points back to the two main themes of the epistle – (1) be on guard so as to not be led astray by false teachers or false ideologies, and (2) an exhortation to grow in Christ.

The rebellious spirit in all of us, due to our sin nature, causes us to naturally drift away from God. It takes commitment and continuing work to not only stay close to Jesus, but also to strive to become more like Him.

How do you get back to land? How do you stop the drift?

Begin by making a decision to not live that way any longer. Realize that you are drifting and be willing to change course. Repent of your disobedience. Then ask God to, by His great love, power, grace, and mercy, through the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to change you and draw you back into submission and obedience to Him. Anchor yourself to the Word of God.

Today, if you find yourself drifting at sea, and we all drift from time to time, look to God to help you begin the journey back into His good and perfect will.

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