The Myth of the Spontaneous Word

Nothing we do is ever truly spontaneous. Whether in word or deed, it began somewhere inside before it exits via action or message. Thus, our Lord rightly affirms, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7, KJV). Out of the well of our hearts springs whatever is inside (Luke 6:45). Good or bad. But this is not the kind of spontaneity of which I am thinking.

Good Springs . . .
A number of weeks back, after having shared with the men in our Saturday morning men's group, my family and I were discussing what was said. We remarked how the Lord had blessed something I had shared from that morning's devotions. It's true, I had been affected by the passage in my reading, the Spirit having blessed and opened up wonderful truth to my soul. In turn, I was enabled to share that with the men, who in turn related their own opinions. We all entered into the spirit of the text and enjoyed it immensely. It was quite evident that the Lord had brought that about, as I must add, He does practically every week! It's become a sort of humorous thing when I say, "Before we begin, I have something that I was reading that I just want to draw your attention to." And then we may end up talking it over for the entire hour! Mind you, the class enters into it happily. There's something exciting about such "spontaneous" words from God.

Spontaneous . . . Really?
My son, Dave and I were remarking how blessed, how rich we all have been after these times and on top of that, to know that this wasn't a "prepared" word, but spontaneous! Phyllis pointed out that no word shared like that is ever truly spontaneous. "After all," she said, "You've been saved for 48 years!" She's right. I remember hearing that same thing brought out in my readings, so it struck a note in all our hearts. What's she saying? After that many years of living the Christian life, daily devoting oneself to reading, praying, studying, preaching and teaching the Word of God, can anything be truly considered "spontaneous"?

This applies across the board. What comes out of us is essentially what we have taken in all our lives. Are we not all products of our past, for good or for bad? Every sermon, every Sunday School lesson, every book, movie, or job, every person with whom we've interacted, all feed into and contribute to the storehouse of our experience. This is why it is so vital for us to ensure that we "load up" with the right food, that we place ourselves in the path of God's blessing. Each of us is the sum of what we have experienced.

Let us affirm good, godly preparation for lessons or sermons. But let's not hesitate to share with our brothers and sisters what God has placed on our hearts in routine devotions. I greatly enjoy hearing from my fellow believers the word God has given them for the day. It may be a tough word, or harsh. And maybe our reaction to God is negative or angry. But it is a TRUE word. The point is that God's Word is so marvelous that we don't want to practice reading it without also enlisting the Spirit's aid to ensure that we see, really SEE what's in front of us.

Keep taking in God's Word, and you'll be loading up to one day give it out, . . . perhaps, SPONTANEOUSLY!!

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