RHEMA—A WORD FROM THE WORD ESPECIALLY FOR YOU
I've shared with you before about the necessity of meeting with God each morning with a predetermined Scripture reading plan. Don't do the "lucky dip" or "fortune cookie" reading plan. Read the Bible in context. Read the complete story and the entire book, even if it is over the course of several days or weeks. But as you are reading, look for a promise, a correction, or specific direction that jumps off the page and speaks directly into your heart. Those are the places to pause, to meditate, to potentially memorize, to take with you. They are called a "Rhema" which is a Greek word that means a word from the Word. It is a personal word from God specifically for you because you need it or will need it very soon.
I was reading a book this morning called "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. If you want to go deeper, this is an incredible book. It has opened my eyes to things I have never seen before, but have been hiding in plain sight in the Scripture. I'm not going to get into all of it now because I am pondering it and going through the process of making it mine. But in the midst of this book, Eldredge put the concept of a "Rhema" into his words. I want to write out how he described it for you. Many times, hearing something important in the words of someone else will resonate and bring a fuller understanding. This is important, so I paused my reading to type this out for you.
The following paragraph is the words of John Eldredge:
"Now I think you'll know what I mean when I say it seemed to 'speak' louder or more clearly than everything else I had been reading. I could not pass on. I tried to, but I sensed that the Spirit of God was saying, 'Go back to that passage--linger there.' I tried to read ahead...but everything after was stale. I went back and read the passage over. There it was again, that tang, that prompt, that warning."
Precious friend, when something POPS in the Scripture, you need to STOP. That is God putting His hands on each side of your face and saying, "Look at Me. Listen. This is for you." Write it down. Take it with you.
If you will do this the Scripture will begin to come alive and change who you are and how you live your life. His Word is alive and living. He has a fresh Word specifically for you every day.
