From the beginning, our lives revolve around relationships. When we are young, we are dependent on our parents. Through years of getting to know them we learn to trust them and grow in this relationship. There are no shortcuts to this. Many like to talk about quality time vs. quantity time, but a good relationship requires both. The most important relationship we need to form is a true relationship with God. Many state that as parents our job is to assist our children from dependence on us, to independence. But the truth is, our purpose is to move our children from dependence on us, to dependence upon our heavenly Father. There are no shortcuts to this relationship either. It can be assisted by others. But our relationship with God cannot depend upon being raised in a specific denomination, a specific pastor or priest, a specific church, etc. These can be tools which either assist or move us further away. To be in a relationship we need to know Him, not only by what others say, but by what He has said through His Word, the Bible. We need the entirety of His Word in order to know Him. We can't simply choose our favorite little portions, or avoid sections that we don't like. For by so doing, we alter the reality of who He is, and in the process adopt a distorted reality of God. He is not hiding. His Word is truth. His Word is available in practically every language on the earth. If you don't like reading, it is available by audio. If any choose not to be in a relationship with God, it is a choice of their own making.

Not only is Psalm 119 the longest chapter in the entire Bible, with 176 verses, but every verse, with the exception of three verses, describe the benefits of studying and depending on God's Word. In these verses His word is referred to as His word, law, statutes, precepts, testimonies, etc. We read in Psalm 119:5, "Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes!" Walking in God's Word through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit leads to peace, while walking in our own way leads to rebellion and a lack of peace. There are no shortcuts to digging in and applying His Word, as we read in 119:11, 15-16, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You...I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word." After we take in His Word, we need to act upon them, as we read in 119:57, "You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words." It has been said, "You only believe the parts of the Bible that you do." There are so many philosophies and "isms" which seek to challenge God's authority, but we read in 119:73, "Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments." Knowing that we were created by God, helps us to realize that our existence is not random, but He has a purpose and a plan for each and every one of us. There are so many distractions, so many things seeking to pull us from the only One who offers clarity and peace. We read in 119:104-105, "Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." His Word will illuminate what is false and enable us to hate this way, while at the same time illuminate the way of truth and enable us to love this way and find peace.
We find ourselves in the middle of chaotic times. The only path for these times will be through God's Word.

We read in 1 Corinthians 7:31, "...For the form of this world is passing away." We might not choose this as a favorite verse, but it is nonetheless true. We have a choice of either clinging onto the things of this world which are fading and will prove faulty, or we can cling onto the God of the Bible who has been, is, and always will be in control. Jesus came to free us, but unless we enter into a relationship with Him, we remain in bondage. We read in Psalm 118:5-6, "I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Though Corrie Ten Boom experienced more than most of us have, being sent to a Nazi concentration camp, and experienced more personal loss, she learned to depend on God, as she said, "I have learned to hold all things loosely, So God will not have to pry them out of my hands." We read in Psalm 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of his saints." Though Missionary Jim Elliot was martyred at age 28, he said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." We, the children of God, need to lean on our Father, who we are dependent on. There are simply no shortcuts to this. He has made Himself known and available to us through His Word. Spend time today and every day. In the process fear and discouragement will be replaced by peace and hope.