The Entire Word Is Good

I took Caleb to get his 8 month pictures yesterday.  I was going to have him in a sweet baby blue pajama.  Maybe with a stuffed animal or something.  But he stained the pajama and an hour before the appointment I was searching for another option.  So I found some jeans and a buttoned shirt.  I thought he would look studious.  So I went and found some books from the office to use as props.

We got to the appointment and took the pictures.  I fell in love with the picture above as soon as I saw it.  Such a sweet little hand placed on such sacred words.  

Before I ordered prints I thought to check and see what the scripture said in the picture.  I had just randomly opened the Bible and placed it on his lap for the pics.  To my dismay “I kept dumb and silent” jumped out at me.  NO!!!  Why couldn’t it have been . . . 

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Or . . . 

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Or anything that didn’t include the word “dumb.”  But it was there.  So I chose a different picture to buy.

Then at our Bible study this morning we were speaking about envy, and jealousy, and gossip.  And how difficult it is to hold your tongue when someone is verbally attacking you.  

And what do you think popped into my head?  You guessed it.  “I kept dumb and silent.”  So I ran to get my computer to show them the picture and we spoke about the verse.  I couldn’t believe it.  It was as if God had that intentionally in the picture so that I could share it at just that moment.

The part of the Word I had shaken my head at and sighed in disgust because it showed up in a picture had become a powerful tool when used in just the right moment.  It gave such an accurate picture of what we go through.  We hold our tongue, but as we think about what was said we get angrier and angrier.  The fire burns within until we finally speak out in anger.  

And it makes me remember that the entire Word of God is good.  The entire Word of God is effective.  The entire Word of God is . . . well God’s.  There is not one insignificant part.  It is ALL good.

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."  But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased.  My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

Psalm 39:1-3

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 18:30

"Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:29

For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."  And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:24-25