12,13 "For the word 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. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NASB)
Instant replay is the demand in sports for making sure every questionable call can be seen from every angle. Waiting for the ref to rule on the replay, the TV commentators run and rerun the play in slow motion while making their guess on the final call. Even the frame-by-frame slow motion fails to see everything.
God has no need for replay. He clearly sees everything about us. His call is always right.
I don’t know if there are two verses in the Bible more descriptive of the power of the Scriptures in our lives. Notice the specific words:
- living, active, sharper than a two-edged sword
- piercing as deep as our joints, or bone marrow
- judges both our thoughts and our motives
- nothing is hidden from His sight
In other words, there is NOTHING in your life that the Scriptures cannot touch! From your actions to your motives, there is nothing that you can hide from Him. His powerful Word will penetrate like a surgeon’s scalpel.
In the last line of this passage, the writer uses a wrestling term: “…all things are open and laid bare…” The word translated “open” was used in wrestling, meaning “to seize by the throat.” According to Bible commentators, “open” was also used in ancient writing to describe how a small dagger was strapped to the neck below the chin of a defendant in a criminal trial so that he could not look away from the judge.
Expect God to convict you while you read the Scriptures. God will not brush off the things that hinder your relationship with Him, whether they are small or large. Expect the Word to bring you face-to-face with issues in your life.
