Job 12:8
How long has it been since you've played Charades? It's been awhile for me. My family used to play a lot when I was in high school and college. And this was not your grandmother's Charades. This was Extreme Charades. Titles like: "Kissinger: A Compendium of Thought on the Man and the Politics".
But this won't be that hard. And I promise not to go too fast for you. It's just one word, so I'm going act out the whole concept. Okay, are you watching? What am I?
Right! I'm a clownfish! Rather cute, aren't they? I mean, as fish go. Certainly more attractive than, say, this fellow:
At any rate, I've got clownfish on the brain lately. I watched something on the Travel Channel about the after-effects of the eruption of a volcano on Indonesia. It destroyed the coral reef, but then it makes a great place for a new one to form. And one type of creature that makes its home on a coral reef is the clownfish.
Most people are familiar with the clownfish, thanks to a certain movie a few years ago... And one of the fascinating things about them is that they live in sea anemone, which is poisonous to other sea creatures, and does eat fish - but not the clownfish. On the contrary, the clownfish thrive there. They get their food from the sea anemone, as they eats the remains of any fish that has been the anemone's lunch. And clownfish are protected by the anemone, as they are able to hide among its fronds, as well as the fact that the sea anemone's poison would kill anything that would venture into it to prey on the clownfish.
This relationship that the clownfish has with the sea anemone made me think of my reliance on the Bible, and how I benefit from it. First of all, it feeds me. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, "Man does not live in bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." And as we learn in the Lord's prayer, we must seek daily bread. Scripture has what I need to get me through every day, but only if I read it.
Like the sea anemone, God's word offers me protection. The world around me - tv, movies and the like - as well as my struggles in the world, are trying to pull me away from the path of faith I am on. I don't know about you, but all I'm trying to do is live my life to please Him, being the wife, mother, student, friend, etc. that He has called me to be. But daily struggles threaten my trust in Him, and the temptations of life are constantly trying to rearrange my priorities, enticing me to put thoughts of Him in the background. The Bible is protection for my heart and my mind. Psalm 119:11 says, "Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." The best picture of this protection comes from Jesus Himself, when He was tempted by satan in the desert. Three times He was tempted, and three times He responded with Scripture, including the passage from Deuteronomy that I quoted above.
God's Word will both sustain us, and protect us, if we rely on it.
And Proverbs 2, has a how-to that I love, in a nutshell:
"Receive My words" ~ read the Bible
"And treasure My commands within you" ~ memorize Scripture
"Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding" ~ study the Bible
"And lift up your voice for understanding" ~ pray
The God who designed the amazing relationship between the clownfish and the sea anemone, is the God who created us. And just as He designed every creature on earth with a way to get food, and a way to protect itself, so He did for us. All we have to do is take advantage of it.
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