Although it is true that the divine life of Christ resides within us, it also is true that we must make ourselves available to His working by filling our minds with the Word of God. If you’re seeking fresh revelation from God, you’re ready for some very practical guidelines and methods for mining this precious silver (see Prov. 2:1-8).
Some will undoubtedly prefer to gaze at the beauty of the treasure others have rather than picking up the tools and digging for themselves. But the revelation of another will not have the same power to redeem our souls that a personal encounter with God’s Word has.
At first, these study tools may seem useless. But without these practical instruments to help us, we will not be successful in extracting the precious silver ore of wisdom and revelation.
DIGGING TOOLS My daddy had quite an elaborate workshop in our home. His many expensive and sophisticated tools qualified him to do difficult carpentry, plumbing and electrical home-improvement tasks. But he also had a small toolbox that he carried with him everywhere.
As a little girl, tagging behind my daddy, I learned to identify the tools in that little box. I even learned to use some of them. In a similar way, we do not need an elaborate theologian’s library to study God’s Word effectively, but we do need to have a toolbox filled with basic items that will help us in our task.
The Scriptures describe the practical work involved in digging for silver when they admonish us to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV). If we aren’t willing to apply ourselves to the work of study, we don’t want wisdom badly enough. We need to get alone with God and ask Him for a greater hunger for Himself.
A PLACE OF STUDY In this world of electronic noise and distractions, we must prepare a place for study that will afford us the quiet we need to “Be still, and know that [He] is God” (Ps. 46:10). We need a place where we can effectively limit the interruptions of clients, family, pets and phone calls.
Our place of study should include a desk (or table), writing utensils and shelves for storing study books. The necessary tools for mining silver should be conveniently placed so we don’t have to run to the basement or upstairs to locate something we need. We should take care to prepare a comfortable place to seek God and furnish it with all the necessary instruments.
