Welcome to the summer 2013 weekly Bible study! Open with a few
minutes of silent prayer to center yourself to become aware of God’s presence. Then
dive in: watch or listen, read the scripture, add your discussion or thoughts, and
live it out this week! Close your time in prayer.
Does My Life Have Meaning?
Listen/Watch: Run by Sanctus Real http://www.youtube.com/user/sanctusrealmusic?v=zrQHNQ0hwQE
Read: Read each scripture twice, slowly. After the second reading discuss the word or phrase that struck you or stood-out. This is the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart to pay attention here. What might the Holy Spirit be trying to say to you today through this verse, phrase or word?
Scripture: Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 and Psalm 139:1-14.
Ecclesiastes is the book in the Bible which starts out with
a person depressed and trying to find meaning for life. The writer explores all the things available
to give one pleasure but in the end finds it all meaningless -- running in
circles or “chasing after the wind.” Solomon pointed out in the opening chapter
of Ecclesiastes that life is like running around a track. I always hated track days in school. Running in circles can be boring; we pass the
same things over and over, leading us nowhere.
Solomon reminds us that when life becomes like this we often wonder if
there is any point to it all.
In Psalm 139:1-14, the word that struck me was “knitted,”
knitted me together. I told one of my
students recently that while we are created by human parents; God’s spirit is also
at work forming our lives from beginning to end. We call this grace, prevenient grace. Prevenient
is one of those “church speak” words, which means “the grace that goes before
awareness.” It is a word that describes
the reality that God is working in our life before we are aware of it; that is
the “grace that goes before awareness.” We are free to cooperate with that grace or
resist it. We are not aware of “prevenient
grace” until we look back and see how the various pieces of life are fitting
together; that is before we can see what God has been doing with us and in us
we often have to take a look back or take a wider view. When we root the meaning of life in who God
says we are and who we are becoming, we find joy in the journey. When we take a
moment to contemplate our life in light of this “prevenient grace” dynamic our
life, like the psalmist’s, it is an experience of “awe.” It is
only in the knowledge of where we stand in that primary relationship between my
Being and God – my “with-God” reality -- that gives my life stability, purpose,
and joy in all the good and bad circumstances that I encounter on this short
journey that will then bleed into eternity.
Verse 7 in the Psalm's passage stuck out to me. It says, "Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight?" So often I forget that God is always looking down on me and can see my every move. I think sometimes, whether intentionally or not, we try to hide from God because of shame, guilt, or laziness. Instead of seeking God out, we attempt to stay away and not work on our faith. However, God still works on us and we have the choice about whether we allow Him to change us. This idea of "prevenient grace" is very relevant to my life at the moment. Especially at a time when I need to find an internship, finish my degree, and find a career, I wonder what God's purpose for my life is and where I will go. I think so many college students can relate to that.
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