This concept of the Bible as living is something new to me. I had been taught, of course, that it is the inspired Word of God, that it was breathed by the Holy Spirit into those who wrote it. But it is also living in the sense that God can speak to us through the Bible in a personal way and in a way that applies to our present life. This is why you can read the Bible every day and could even meditate on a passage countless times and always find something new. A few missionaries have brought up this passage in their lectures, emphasizing the effectiveness of Bible studies in transforming the lives of students:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. - Isaiah 55:10-11
Thus, students will be transformed not because of the wisdom that we give them or our ability to facilitate a Bible study, but because they are receiving the living Word of God. My job then becomes one of prayer - asking the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of the students - and openness to hearing the words of the Spirit and speaking in the way He moves me.
Above all, I am learning to give God control. Up til now, it seems, I have had a death grip on the steering wheel -- now I'm pleading with Him to take it from me. My plan is imperfect, while His is perfect.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9
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