Rightly divide the Word

Today I read Jeremiah 14:9-17:7 and 2 Timothy 1:13-2:15. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we truly trust the Lord and hope in Him, we can be happy; we will receive blessings from Him. But to trust Him means that we take our needs and cares to Him and leave them with Him. We do not worry about them or try to help God take care of them—we simply lay them down and believe that they are resolved. That is not an easy thing to do! We tend to want to serve God in an advisory capacity, especially when He is dealing with things that directly affect our lives. But if we trust Him, we allow Him to work things out in His time and according to His will. We wait expectantly to see what He will do then rejoice in the results. And when we say that the Lord is our hope, that does NOT mean that we sure hope He can get us out of the mess we have gotten into. It is more the idea that everything I hope for is entrusted to God knowing that He will do what is best for me in every situation. It is not a pins-and-needles, “Oh, I hope everything will work out.” It is a confident expectation that all is well and will continue to be well.

Now we know that God does all things well, but how good is my approval rating—or yours? How do we obtain God’s approval? Study, work, and “rightly divide” God’s word. To “rightly divide” means that all things in God’s word must be understood in context. Do not pick pieces of Scripture and twist them to mean what you want. Study God’s word as a whole and be sure your understanding of the message is not based on one verse or passage taken out of context to make it fit a situation the way you want it to. If we divide the word of truth and only keep the part we like, we have not “rightly divided”. Be very careful in your handling of the word; it is powerful and sharp, and you can hurt yourself or someone else if you handle it carelessly.