How is God’s inspired word profitable for us for correction? Let me give you an example. Say that you have been reading through the book of Matthew. You come to chapter six in the evening. 

Throughout that day you were worrying about something that you had no control over. Your mind was totally occupied. You kept dialoguing with it. Your inner conversation was like a loop of stress. You settled down to pick up His word. You came to verse 26. It says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry…” Busted!

Why does Jesus say to not worry? Verses 26-30 remind us that He takes care of the birds, He clothes the lilies and the grass of the field. Verse 32 says that He knows what we need. Then He brings course correction to our thought processes. It starts with the transitional word of but.

Verse 33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” His course correction helps us understand what to prioritize in our lives. Worry blocks trust, but trust destroys worry.

Proverbs 10:17 in the Amplified is a verse that should stop us in our tracks. It says, “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself) in the way of life (but also) is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray (but also) causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.”

When our message and messenger are not the same, we can cause others to err. I love Franklin Graham’s statement about his dad. He said that he was the same at home as he was in the pulpit.

Proverbs 27:17 Amplified says “Iron sharpens iron: so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (to show rage or worthy purpose).” Verse 19 says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.”

The Lord is the only one who truly knows what is in our heart. However, our heart is revealed through our words, body language, actions, and attitude. What we think about is reflected in our character. Does it exemplify the Lord?

I have been meditating on 2 Timothy 3:16. It says, “All Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproofs, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” All means everything without exception.

I was thinking about when I read through my Bible and come to the books in the Old Testament. How are they profitable for reproof to me? Reproof means conviction. Here’s one that always gives me pause. Numbers 32:23 says, “…you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.”

King David did everything he could to hide his sin with Bathsheba. The Lord knew. He sent the prophet Nathan to reproof the king. 2 Samuel 12:9 says, “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?…”

David set the record straight for us in Psalm 51. Verse 4 says, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.”

Hidden sin blocks our intimate communion with the Lord, and we cannot savor His goodness.

It is the goodness of God that sustains us through His promises. Think of. Psalm 23:6 It  says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

David wrote Psalm 27. My dad used to write Psalm 27:13 after his name when he signed guest books at funeral services. Why? It says, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

His goodness is His revealed character. Moses went up Mount Sinai with two tablets of stone. The Lord proclaimed Who He is at all times. Exodus 34:6 says, “…The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.”

We are to exemplify the Lord’s character through our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 is the evident fruit of one living under the control of the Holy Spirit. Goodness is the manifestation of His kindness—doing good to others. Are you kind to the unthankful? Jesus was. Luke 6:35.

Psalms 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Satiate means to fill to the full.

How is your spiritual appetite? Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”

An excellent way to savor God’s goodness is to meditate on it through His word. Think of Romans 2:4. Its truth is preceded with God’s judgment regarding judging others. The verse says, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

When we are walking in the Spirit, then He will convict us when we first entertain a thought of judging others. Matthew 7:1 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Here is the last verse in Womb Of The Morning. In Me you will lack nothing. Your very sustenance comes through sweet communion. Through intimacy that cannot be broken. Nothing on this earth can compare with My beauty of holiness. In the womb of the morning. Though He gave me this new song in 2002, the words still feed my spirit.

Intimate communion is an amazing privilege and honor. It staggers me to realize He desires to talk to me. He longs to stay connected. He chose each one of us for Heart to heart connection. 

He knows what’s in our hearts, yet He still desires for us to tell Him what is troubling us. Hannah is a great example for us. 1 Samuel 1:13 says, “Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard…” In verse 15 she told Eli that she, “…poured out my soul before the Lord.”

He desires this for each of us. We are prone to stuff things, allow doubts to accumulate, or fill our void with substitutes that keep us bound.

Here is the first part of a new song. It is a great description of communing. It is called Womb Of The Morning.

I come to You O Lord in the womb of the morning. To sit and worship You and call upon Your name. You answer me with a sweetness that melts my heart. And opens me to receive Your words. Your words like oil penetrate the places in my heart that were hardened through fear.

There is nothing on this earth that compares to communing with the Lord. Don’t let things rival your time with Him. He is always Present. He waits for us. He won’t compete with the substitutes we choose to fill in our emptiness.

In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3. Our communion with Him, through His word, causes our roots to go deeper. In Mark 4:17, the folks had no root in themselves and fell away. In verse 18 the cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things choked out the word. Don’t let it happen to you.

John 15:7 in the Amplified says, “If you live in Me (abide vitally united to Me) and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts…” We fellowship with the Lord through His word which is living and powerful. 

Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…” Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” Incline means to listen favorably.

2 Peter 1:3 says that He has given us everything we need through our relationship with Him. Isaiah 55:1 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” Psalm 42:1-2 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God…”

Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, you are my God; early will I see You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” Our true satisfaction is found in Him.

Abide means to dwell, stay, remain, wait for. John 15:4 in the Amplified says, “Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. (Live in Me, and I will live in you.) Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.”

Here’s a dramatic example of what vital union means. I sawed off a low hanging branch in my backyard, and left it lying on the ground. 1/2 hour later I noticed that the leaves on the branch were totally wilted. I cut it off from its life source!

Job 7:17-18 says, “What is man, that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart on him, that You should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?” Psalm 8:4 says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”

Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image…” We are created for relationship with our Creator. 

How often we emotionally or physically back up when faced with impossible circumstances. We might seek something for immediate diversion, instead of drawing closer to the Lord. I love Paul’s example. Philippians 3:13 says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

One fluid motion. As he is forgetting and letting the things behind go, he is at the same time reaching forward to what the Lord set before him. Verse 14 says, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

We press forward through intention. I’ve learned from David’s psalms to say, “I will…” when I need to do something unpleasant. Even though being pulled backwards emotionally, David pressed in through “I will praise the Lord.”

Every thought has a motive. We can course correct the second we have a thought that would cause us to draw back. The thought comes before the emotion. In fact our thoughts are responsible for our emotions.