No Distracted Scatterbrains

“But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.” James 1:25 (The Message)

Catching a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God… and sticking it out to it’s promised conclusion, that’s a big deal.  I don’t normally read the Message version of the Bible, but I just love how this verse expresses the idea of sticking to God’s Word and not being a “scatterbrain”. The New King James version puts it a bit more delicately and tells us that the person who looks into the “perfect law of liberty” is someone who won’t be a “forgetful hearer” but will be blessed.

Have you ever found delight and affirmation “in the action”?  Have you ever looked intently into God’s Word, caught that glimpse of truth, stuck with it, and found total joy in the obedience of doing what He says?

When we catch that glimpse, that Holy Spirit nudge, that free life… there’s no changing our minds or turning back. James doesn’t mince words here, he’s telling us that just hearing the word isn’t going to cut it, we have to be doers of it as well. When James tells us to look intently into God’s perfect law, the word he uses implies bending down and getting close to it, examining it face to face. He reminds us that it’s useless to learn something and immediately walk off and forget what was taught. It’s like when people say they took three years of French in high school and can’t remember a single thing. Or if you’re like me, any form of math. I didn’t value it, I truly didn’t care and so, in one ear and out the other!

This verse is so rich I think because it doesn’t stop at the hearing part. It’s showing us the entire life cycle, if you will, of how obedience to God plays out. We will find delight and affirmation in what we do because He’s the one who told us to do it.

Maybe He’s calling us to let go of something. He’s probably also telling us there’s something worth holding on to that needs some healing. Whatever He’s nudging you about, lean in a bit and put in the time to discover what it is. There’s not much room for fear or doubt when you heed His instruction. This verse assures us we won’t be a distracted scatterbrain if we focus in on God’s promptings. That “free life” we are all chasing lies just on the other side of obedience to His Word.

Anyone can drink their coffee and casually read the Bible. What we do when the Holy Spirit starts pushing us in a specific direction makes all the difference. He’ll push us towards things we may be hesitant to get near. He’ll pull us away from unhealthy stuff we may not want to let go of. The beauty of that obedience is that it really does bring that free life, if we can just commit ourselves to bending down and examining closely what Jesus is freely telling us.

Delight in doing what He tells us to do.

Affirmation in our circumstances because we obeyed.

What a great amount of heartache we could probably save ourselves if we bent down a bit more often to examine His word to us. Lord, teach us that when we catch a glimpse of your truth we need to stick with it and see it through. Show us how it isn’t enough just to hear your words, but that the true joy lies in obeying them and seeing the results!