This month has been a whirlwind at our house. My husband was on a trip to Turkey to tour the seven churches of Revelation from July 1-12, and we both just returned from a long-planned family vacation to Scotland from July 17-27. We love traveling and seeing different parts of this beautiful world God has created. We also enjoy hearing the different languages and accents that surround us. In His great wisdom and sovereign plan for humanity, God has given us the delightful and unique gift of communication through the spoken word.

God is a God who communicates, but we must choose to listen and hear Him. All words are powerful but none more so than the word of God.

For the ten days Todd was in Turkey, I enjoyed a lot of time in God’s Word working on a new devotional. The house was empty and quiet. I had few obligations. It was a sweet time of learning and listening for me.

But things change.

Full confession, the ten days I spent with immediate and extended family in Scotland left me sorely lacking in my time in God’s Word. There were fifteen of us together 24/7…ten adults and five children. Time alone was not a priority, as we soaked up every minute we could with our precious children and grandchildren whom we do not see very often. While my relationship and faith in God is always a priority (it’s my identity), taking time to talk to Him and hear from Him took a back seat.

While a temporary lack of time in God’s Word is understandable when we are far removed from our daily routines (I don’t think God is mad at me because of it), a return to His Word reminds us how refreshing and life-giving it is. It’s a spiritual “coming home” for our souls as we realize how much we missed it!

1 Peter 1:23-25 gives us some insight into why God’s Word is so necessary for our lives.

For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.

The word of God is the source of our spiritual life. There are two Greek words translated “word” in these verses. The first “word” is logos, referring to both the written Word (the Scriptures) and the Word of God Himself, as John explains when he introduces Jesus in his gospel.

John 1:1-3, 14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. … And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

How is Jesus the “word” of God?

Hebrews 1:1-3a – God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

Jesus is the logos, the “living and enduring word of God” through whom we are born again.

The second and third occurrence of “word” is translated from the Greek rēma, which refers to speech. What God says, “endures forever.” It was spoken to us by the Holy Spirit who preached the gospel to our hearts and minds and caused us to be born again.

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you (1 Peter 1:25 KJV).

The Holy Spirit preaches the Scriptures to us; He explains Jesus…the rema and the logos working together for salvation.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word (logos) of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words (rema) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

There will be times in your life when you are better able to be still and quiet so you can hear God speak through His Word. And in all likelihood, you’ll have some days when a few moments of conversation with God through His Word and prayer are harder to come by. The important thing to remember is that God’s Word is not just a dry, dusty book to pick up at our convenience. It’s living and active, the expression and revelation of God Himself to His creation, able to enlighten our minds, transform our hearts, and change us into the image of the Word Himself, Jesus.

I’m thankful God reminds me to not let the distractions and busyness of life become a habit. Vacations are awesome, but walking and abiding in Christ is built on a daily routine of spending time with the logos and the rema of God’s Word.

It’s so good to be home.