God Word Is Like A Surgeon’s Scalpel

The word of God is . . . 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.
–Hebrews 4:12

When I think about the power of God’s Word to penetrate and to free us to experience His rest, I remember a Monday night in October 1985. I had been invited to deliver the keynote message at the annual associational meeting at the First Baptist Church in Breckenridge, Texas. As Amy and I were seated in the pew waiting for the service to begin, an usher tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Dr. Jeffress, there is an emergency phone call for you in the pastor’s office.” I went back to take the phone call, and on the other end of the line was my brother-in-law. He said, “They did some exploratory surgery on your mom today, and the doctor found inoperable cancer that has metastasized everywhere. They are not able to do anything for her. They have given her four months to live. You probably ought to come back if you can.” I could not believe what I heard. I cannot tell you to this day what I preached that night, but as soon as we finished Amy and I hurriedly left the church and started driving back to Dallas.

I will never forget driving through those dark backroads of West Texas, headed to Dallas, overcome with grief and questions about what was going to be in the future and why the Lord would allow such a thing to happen. I turned on the radio, and I heard a familiar voice. It was Chuck Swindoll, and he was reading Romans 11:33: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” I do not know how many people were listening to the broadcast that Monday night, but God knew that was exactly what I needed to hear. Those verses reminded me that God has a plan that is beyond our comprehension. He has a plan that He is working out. Even though in the darkness we cannot see what that plan is, we can trust Him. It was God’s Word that freed me that night to experience God’s rest, and that is the power of God in your life as well.

God’s Word is not only a sword that frees us to experience God’s rest, but it is also a surgeon’s scalpel that cuts us so we can experience God’s healing in our life. Hebrews 4:12 says God’s Word is “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.”

The fact is, you cannot hide from God. How foolish it is to say, “Well, I just don’t believe the Bible anymore. I do not believe it is God’s Word.” Do you think that changes anything? Just because you do not believe in gravity does not mean gravity doesn’t exist. It is there whether you believe it or not. And the same is true with God’s Word.

The Word of God refuses to allow us to hide from the judgment we deserve. God’s Word is like a surgeon’s scalpel that pierces us in order to heal us.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Truth That Transforms” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2018.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.