Pierced by the Word

I Love The Word of God. I don't say lightly. It is a terrible thing. "The voice of the LORD...strips the forest bare!" (Ps 29:9). By His Word, God created the universe. And when His Son comes again, His Word will be like a "sharp sword with which to strike down the nations" (Revelatioy 19:15). So I tremble before the Word of God.

But this trembling is sweet. There is a promise attached to it. God says, "This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). Not every "look" of God is to be desired. But this one is. It is the look of blessing. And when God blesses the broken and contrite, His Word becomes Life. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).

Yes, the Word pierces. And there is pain. But for those who trust in the living Word, Jesus Christ, all the piercing will be plesant in the end. The boil will be lanced. The cancer cut out. The poison removed. For those who trust the severe mercy of Jesus, all piercing is healing.
I pray that these meditations will reveal and not conceal the Word of God. May they become in your life the living embodiment of that Word and penetrate to the deep places of your soul. God has a good work to do there.

John Piper
(Introduction to the devotional, "Pierced by the Word")