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CrossReads Weekly Devotional: Clean Your Sword,
by Precarious Yates,
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence,
Ever read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis? It was the first book he wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia series, and it’s so powerful!
For those unfamiliar with the story, a little girl named Lucy explores a wardrobe in a guest bedroom and discovers an entire world inside—Narnia—a world where it’s always winter and never Christmas. When her brothers and sister join her in Narnia, they have incredible adventures and learn about, then meet Aslan, the Lion who brings change to everything. Where once there was no Christmas, Christmas comes. Where once there was constant winter, spring comes. The evil white witch, the one who makes it always winter and never Christmas, has a pack of talking wolves for her police, and these wolves chase down the children. Peter, the oldest child who had been given a sword and shield from Father Christmas, squares off against Maugrim, the chief of the wolf-police. He is able to defeat the wolf and scare off the other wolves. As soon as Peter realizes his victory, he’s about to put away his sword, and that’s when Aslan says to him, “You have forgotten to clean your sword” (pg. 171). Later on, when Peter kneels to be knighted, Aslan says, “whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword” (pg. 171).
Hebrews 4:12 likens the word of God to a sword and says:
“The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (NKJV)
It’s amazing how God’s word is able to do this. We open up to a scripture verse and God deposits great swaths of inspiration and revelation. But sometimes, over the years, we hear everyone else’s thoughts and ideas about verses or passages of scripture, and we stop hearing directly from the Lord. Sometimes, we need to clean our sword.
But how do we do such a thing?
We pray the scriptures, specifically by praying through the Psalms.
This longest book of the bible, both in chapters and in words, holds deep secrets about the emotions of human beings, and provides both insights to our spiraling thoughts pathways out of these spiraling thoughts. It shows us the broken part of our soul and tells us how it can be fixed.
I encourage you to open to the book of Psalms regularly and pray what you find there.
As you read through the Psalms, read slowly, deliberately, and turn the words into a prayer. If there’s anything that jumps out at you, that is your prayer. Pray these words back to God. He is showing you insights not only to what hurts, but how to heal those hurts.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few suggestions:
Psalm 4
Psalm 31
Psalm 33
Psalm 46
Psalm 67
Psalm 91
Psalm 103
Psalm 148
Happy New Year, and may God richly bless you!
About the Author:
Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.
Links:
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