Anchors of Hope - The Living Word of God

Life has a way of constantly surprising me. I am a planner by nature. It isn’t that I don’t like surprises, but I feel much more comfortable and enjoy life more when I know what is coming and how to deal with it. So, when life happens as it does, surprising me with something I did not imagine as a possibility, I can be thrown off balance. When I am knocked off balance, outside influences and inner voices take advantage of the situation and throw lies at me. One of the most destructive lies is that everything is hopeless—or worse, that there is no source of hope and I must create it for myself.

Throughout my life, God has been a constant presence. One of the most consistent places where I found God is in Scripture. My relationship with Scripture began in knowing the Bible—memorizing the words, the people, the rules, and the punishments. This gave me a way to plan how I should move through life. I followed God’s plan for me in the Bible, and I was met with success. I didn’t need to hope – I could know.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

But on my journey through life, I came to realize that knowing the Bible didn’t mean I knew God. Limiting Scripture to being the FAQ (frequently asked questions) source, the rule book, or an answer key left me without an intimate understanding of who God is and how God loves. As my heart yearned for something deeper—and as I wrestled with living up to the rules I knew so well—I was introduced to the Living Word of God.

This rediscovery unfolded slowly, beginning as a whisper to my heart—a call to love others and a realization that I didn’t fully understand what it meant to love God, love others, and love myself well. So I cried out to God, asking to be taught to love like God. I had no idea how powerful that prayer would be. God placed Ignatian spirituality tools along my path—books, mentors, retreats, prayer guides, spiritual direction, and the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises—to draw my heart closer to the heart of Jesus. Through these resources, the voice of God in Scripture spoke to me in a new and living way.

The Living Word of God is the Scripture that meets me where I am. It anchors me in hope because it anchors me in the Incarnate Word of God—Jesus. Spending time with Scripture in a way that lets it saturate my soul and opens the door for the Holy Spirit to move within me has been life-changing. Releasing my tight grip—my attempts to extract what I think I need—brought new freedom to my relationship with God.

I discovered that the most effective ways of encountering Jesus in Scripture is through daily prayer. Two practices that deepen my understanding of God and how God loves me and the world are lectio Divina and Ignatian contemplation. These methods offer far more than simply reading Bible verses. I am invited to encounter God in the written Word and in the living space between the words and my heart. In that space, the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Word, continues to inspire by drawing my heart toward God. Entering prayer with the Living Word of God invites me to openness, allowing God to meet me wherever I am.

When I pray with Scripture using lectio Divina, I am invited to notice how the Word of God lands in my heart. One passage may inspire me today and something entirely different tomorrow. In Ignatian contemplation, I step into familiar stories and encounter God through the feelings and insights that arise as I experience the story as a participant. Both methods lead me to Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate. Frequent, intentional prayer with the Living Word of God opens my heart to recognize the voice of God in every part of life—in Mass, in conversations, in daily experiences, and in the world around me. It helps me silence the voices that are not of God—the voices that insist that everything is hopeless or that I must create my own hope.

As I spend time with Jesus in Scripture, the Holy Spirit offers me hope—a gift far different from certainty. Certainty says, “I know”. Hope says, “God knows me, God loves me, and God calls me into life with that love.” With hope, I do not need to have all the answers, because the answer I need for today may differ from the answer I need for tomorrow. Anchored in hope through the Living Word of God, I trust that God will meet me where I am, speak to my heart in love, and move me to action.

The Living Word of God offers me the gift of hope. It restores my vision and lights my path with the radiance of Christ’s love. It doesn’t always provide a step-by-step plan, but it reveals the map God has inscribed on my heart, drawing me into deeper relationship—and that is where hope lives!

Your word is lamp for my feet, a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Going Deeper:

• What is your relationship with Scripture? How does the Living Word of God speak to you?

• Consider spending time praying with Scripture in a different way. How can you encounter the Living Word of God differently this week?

  • Try a different prayer method, perhaps lectio Divina or Ignatian contemplation.

  • Try a different source. If you typically pray with Scripture offered in a prayer guide or book, consider spending time with the daily readings offered through the Church.

  • Try a different vehicle to receive the Word of God, perhaps audio Scripture or prayer. Becky Eldredge has an amazing audio library to get you started.

  • Try a different time. If you pray in the morning, consider a pause to pray with Scripture at lunch or in the afternoon, giving God another chance to speak to your heart. If you pray at the end of the day, consider starting your morning in scripture-based prayer.

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash.

Thank you!

The “Into the Deep” weekly blog is a free offering to live our mission of accompaniment. If someone forwarded this to you, please be sure to sign up at the bottom of this website page so that you receive an email each week with the new blog.

Comment!

If something our writers shared resonates with you, please feel free to write a positive and uplifting comment by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

Support Us!
You can help support this free offering with a small monthly donation! Your recurring generosity enables us to continue building our home of accompaniment. If you would like to donate, please do so here.

Michele Eickman

Michele has held a lifelong love for Christ and Christ’s transforming mission to love humanity. She has lived that mission through her primary vocation as a wife and mother. Out of desire to serve God with her grace-gifted abilities, she has also responded to the call of love through volunteerism and serving her local parish community for several years as Director of Faith Formation, leading families to an encounter with Christ in the Church and through the Sacraments. After being introduced to Ignatian Spirituality several years ago, her heart opened in a new way and the transforming love of God presented a new call to join the Ignatian Ministries team as the Executive Assistant and assist in leading people into deeper waters of faith. She is grateful to the call of Christ, to the people who have loved her well and walked along with her, and for the future of accompanying others in that love. She lives in Calhoun, GA with her husband Tim and daughter Annie, with three young adult children in college and beyond. They love being active together - through fitness, food, and travel.