The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

As true as these words are, it is easy to misunderstand the meaning. What are the words of God? Most people that you ask would quickly point you to the Bible. This collection of writings, spanning better than 3,000 years, is the accepted standard of man’s relationship with his Creator.

It is not only the centerpiece for all of Christianity, it is touted as the only Word of God for most of Christendom. Like the Bible Belt comment for the Authorized King James Version (“If it was good enough for the Apostle Paul, it’s good enough for me!”), we make the assumption that men have always had it, and that God directed the writing and compilation of it.

However, since Paul didn’t have the King James — he didn’t even have a Bible — and the psalmist only had the law, what could the verse above mean? It certainly could refer to a better understanding of the law, but it seems to intimate a more personal direction from the Almighty.

God speaks to us in many ways. I love the Bible. It is a wonderful representation of God’s interaction with his created. It depicts both the strengths and weaknesses of the human race. It also boldy displays the dirty laundry of even God’s chosen. The words found in the scriptures could well have been directed or inspired, but most certainly would have passed through human hands and be subject to various interpretations.

A friend of mine loves to walk, and he says that God speaks to him through creation — that at times he is overwhelmed with the beauty and drama found in nature. I can understand and relate to that. I believe that God also speaks through a friend, a mate, a family pet or a baby’s cry. Finally, there is the still, small voice within each of us, the connection that bears his image.

We must empty ourselves in order to receive his word. We must also eagerly seek his light in a darkened world. Isaiah 55:11 says that his word will never return to him empty, but will accomplish his purposes. We can stand on his word.