When We Need Clarity
There is power in clarity.
Especially when things are chaotic and confusing.
This is particularly true when we find ourselves in the midst of suffering. In the midst of heartbreak. In the midst of a life storm that has made it seemingly impossible to see clearly. If I’m honest, this is where I feel like I’ve been living for the past month journeying with my sweet boy.
In these times it can be difficult, even scary, to move forward. To put one foot in front of the other. Confusion reigns. Anxiety is high. Peace is nowhere to be found.
What do we need in these times?
When confusion reigns?
When we have no clue where we are going or what next step we need to take?
When the offers of direction and “wisdom” from the world are revealed to be as foolish and misleading as they really are?
When your own “gut instincts,” which you thought were so sure and trustworthy, have shown themselves to be highly questionable, even unreliable?
What do we need in these times?
What we need is clarity. There is nothing we need more than clarity. And there is no place where clarity reigns supreme like the straight-up, rock-solid, clear and illuminating Word of God as given to us in Holy Scripture, in the Bible.
Theologians call this the perspicuity of Scripture. It is understandable. It is comprehensible. It is clear.
You see, the Bible is no ordinary book.
No “fake news” can be found here, my friends. This is not People magazine or your favorite blog we are talking about.
This is the supernatural, inspired, sufficient, trustworthy, timeless, authoritative, clear and true Word of God.
Listen to what the Bible, as the Word of God, tells us about itself:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. - Isaiah 40:8
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
This is my comfort in my affliction, Your word has given me life. - Psalm 119:50
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. - John 17:16
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. - Psalm 119:105
The Bible. No book on earth is like it. No place on earth will you find the clarity it brings. In the face of darkness and depression. Sickness and suffering. Confusion and cancer.
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.
Psalm 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
When we are in the storm, clear words from God like these in Psalm 46 are like an anchor for our soul. An Anchor of truth. This is why we need the Bible in the storm.
We need to read the Word of God in the storm.
We need to meditate on the Word of God in the storm.
We need to memorize the Word of God in the storm.
We need to sing the Word of God in the storm.
We need to saturate ourselves in the Word of God in the storm so that we can find clarity. Clarity has power. And the Word of God brings clarity.
The Word brings clarity about Who God is…His heart, His character, His power, His righteousness, His holiness, His love, His mercy, His goodness, His sovereignty, His wisdom. The Word also brings clarity about who we are…our need, our brokenness, our sin, our insufficiency, our dependency, our purpose, our hope, our joy, our peace, our value as those made in the image of God, as men and women Jesus died to save.
The Word of God brings the clarity you and I need. The question is this: Will the Word of God be the anchor that you turn to in the storms that are sure to come in your life? Or, will you attempt to anchor yourself to something else?
You will attempt to anchor yourself to something in the storm. You will. It is impossible not to. What will it be?
For the sake of clarity: God’s Word is the only anchor that is truly sufficient in the storm. For God’s Word alone…
Provides comfort for ourselves and others in the midst of suffering, pain, and hardship.
Empowers us to triumph over sin in our pursuit of holiness.
Enables greater effectiveness in our witness to unbelievers.
Equips us to give wise and Godly counsel to others.
Loads us up with the ammunition we need for spiritual battle.
Strengthens our faith by keeping the promises of God at the forefront of our minds.
Serves as a catalyst for ongoing worship and enjoyment of God and His ways.
Brings clarity in the face of confusion and chaos…in the midst of the storm.
Only the Word of God does this. Only the Holy Scriptures. Only the Bible. Because the truth is, as the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, puts it so perfectly:
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
Forever. And ever. Amen.
