Years ago my parents wrote out all the meaning of names for the children in their lives. I think they did it one year for youth camp. My first name is Judith. It means praise. Marilyn is the root to mara meaning bitter. My dad wrote, “You have the opportunity to turn all your bitter situations into praise.” Talk about prophetic!

I am reading the book of Ruth. Elimelech means my God is King; Namoi means pleasant, delightful, lovely; Mahlon means weak, sickly; Chilion means failing, pining. Can you imagine naming your child with such negativity? Every time you called their name you pronounced sickness on them.

When Namoi went back to Bethlehem, she said in Ruth 1:20, “…Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Note. Bitterness is a choice. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”

Psalm 5:3 says, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” Psalm 119:5-6 says, “Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.”

I love it when I am praying for someone, and the Holy Spirit puts words in my mouth. He desires to direct our prayers into God’s perfect ways. He uses our adversities, hardships, and trials to keep us centered on Him. It is easy to stray into our own way ~ iniquity.

The Lord hears our prayer, whether audible or silent. Psalm 86:7 says, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.” Psalm 17:6 says, “I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God…” Cry out, then quiet your heart to listen. Psalm 131:2.

Have you ever wondered what you should do? I have countless times. Psalm 119:133 says, “Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.” Years ago I heard this definition for iniquity: anything that I do independent of the Lord. It caught my attention because I was a very independent person.

It reminds me of Isaiah 53:6 which says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Our steps will be directed into His righteousness when we walk upright. Psalm 85:13.

Our feet go where our heart dictates. Here is one of Paul’s prayers we can adopt. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 says, “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”

I think the best Scripture description for experiential knowledge is Ephesians 3:19 Amplified. It says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!”

It is beyond just common knowledge that anyone can read about. It is the personal experience of interfacing with the truths of God’s word that describe His Person. 2 Timothy 2:13 says about God, “…He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

He backs His words with Himself, Who is the Living Word that cannot be changed or altered. He is the word that will not return void. He will accomplish what He has said He will do. He always fulfills His part ~ our part is simply to believe and immerse our life into His.

Psalm 119:125 says, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.” The Hebrew word for understanding means discernment, and the word know is by experience. Experiential knowledge. 

My mind went back to Proverbs 9:10. It says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” To know the Lord through His word causes us to become partakers of His nature. 2 Peter 1:4.

Inculcating His word allows it to be alive inside us, especially in the midst of our adverse circumstances. Instilling His truth, is like coating our heart with wallpaper. It remains no matter what our situation is. We cling to Him through His word that is written on the walls of our heart. Psalm 119:117 says, “Hold me up, and I shall be safe…” Clinging to His nature of faithfulness, allows us to tangibly experience His nature as He holds us up.

I love how God’s word is living and active. As we meditate on His word, it plants truth deep into the soil of our hearts. I had to fast and drink a concoction for my colonoscopy without sedation. I had made it to Psalm 119:116-117 in my meditating through the Psalm. 

The attending doctor worked hard to convince me to do sedation. It’s not an option with my brain injuries. I clung to the Lord through the procedure with the two verses I had meditated on the day before. They were my breath that sustained me. He totally upheld me, verse 116, so that I was not ashamed of my hope. He literally held me up and kept me safe. Verse 117.

The Lord is Present in all of our trials. However, when we cling to Him through His word, it is like yeast in bread dough. His living, active, and sustaining truth permeates every particle of our being.

I know that I have been taught the revelation in this verse and verse 13 are when He comes again to take us home. However, it can also be applied to our trials. Verse 13 says, “…rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

When the Lord comes for us, all will be revealed. Now we look through a cloudy mirror. 1 Corinthians 13:12. We are flooded with grace when He reveals Himself to us IN our present trial. Grace is empowerment to endure.

The Greek words in 1 Peter 1:7 and 13 are the same: an unveiling, uncovering, revealing, from the root word disclosure. John 14:21 says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Manifest means to reveal.

1 Peter 1:7 says, “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The Lord revealed Himself to Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-Nego IN the fiery furnace. I believe He reveals Himself to us IN our trials. He certainly has for me ~ showing me things about Himself that I never experienced before. I didn’t know anything about intimate communion until I fell into the ravine (1977)

In the brain injury crucible (2017) I couldn’t think for myself for four months. He revealed Himself to me through phrases of Scripture that He put into my mind to think. He kept me in that for hours until He gave me the next one.

My pastor friend wrote to me, “I’m swimming in His great grace and mercy. That’s why there is peace and assurance within when storms are raging without.” Timeless truth.

I love the word uphold. As I was meditating on Psalm 119:116-117 I thought of these words. Sustain. Secure. Undergird. Strengthen. Reinforce. Fortify. Support. The verses say, “Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and shall be safe, and I shall observe Your statutes continually.”

I love Isaiah 41:10 also. It says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” There is no greater security than to know that our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Colossians. 3:3.

Here is a verse that fortifies me when I am facing impossible situations. Psalm 63:8 Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Psalm 119 is broken up into 22 sections of 8 verses each. Verses 97-104 are about the power of meditating. Verse 98 ~ make us wiser than our enemies. Verse 99 ~ more understanding than our teachers. Verse 100 ~ more understanding than the ancients. Verse 101 ~ restrains our feet from every evil way. Verse 102 ~ keep us from departing from God’s word. Verse 103 ~ sweet communion. Verse 104 ~ gives us a hatred for every false way.

James 1:5 says that if we need wisdom we can ask. James 3:18 says that wisdom from above is first of all pure. What could be purer than God’s word? Psalm 112:6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Meditating in God’s word purifies our thought processes. Psalm 18:26 says, “With the pure You will show Yourself pure…” Trials purify our faith so that there is no hidden alloy to tarnish His reflection.