Choose to Study the Word

How do you know what God wants for your life when every day feels crowded with distractions? In this Sunday message from November 1, 2026, Pastor Linda Reese taught on choosing to seek God with our whole heart, study His Word, and lean on His unfailing promises.

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Psalm 119:2 (KJV)

Dig into the Word for yourself

Pastor Linda pointed to the dry-erase whiteboard at the front of the room, which listed the morning’s Scriptures. God gives each of us the freedom of choice, and one of our most important daily decisions is whether we open the Bible or ignore it. She challenged the room about where our time goes, asking whether hours are spent on television, mobile phones, or social media instead of God’s Word. Believers cannot survive merely on someone else’s revelation. “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me” (Psalm 119:30).

Pastor Linda recalled growing up in Christian school and always hearing that animals went into Noah’s ark two by two, until she read the Bible for herself and found that clean animals entered by sevens. She compared taking in Scripture to eating nutritious food, which must be chewed and digested to do any good. To build this habit, she suggested writing one verse on an index card and taping it to a bathroom mirror, front door, or car dashboard to ponder all day.

Expect good things from God

Instead of endlessly rehearsing old wounds, betrayal, or rejection, Pastor Linda urged the congregation to speak God’s promises. God wants to heal our hurts and restore what was lost, but our help comes from Him rather than people. “Our help is in the name of the Lord.” “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8).

She asked the room if anyone woke up expecting something good from God. She remembered returning from a vacation where practically everything went wrong, yet choosing to wake up expecting God’s goodness anyway. Quoting the Bill Gaither song about something good being on its way, she urged the church to maintain daily expectation. Trusting God makes us secure like Mount Zion, but living with expectation is an act of faith, not entitlement.

Trade your worry for peace

Laboring in our own strength to build a career or status ends in exhaustion. When we let God build our lives, we can rest knowing that He will complete what He started without our frantic meddling. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Pastor Linda declared that “worrying is an absolutely waste of time.” Fretting cannot add a single moment to our lives, yet it drains our energy and robs our joy. “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew 6:27). Jesus never promised a trouble-free life, but He gave us His peace because He has overcome the world.

Learn patience and rest in His love

Spiritual maturity requires patience, though Pastor Linda cautioned never to pray for it since trials produce endurance. When stuck at a red light or trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 81, we can choose to sing or meditate on Scripture rather than react in anger, thanking God for developing our patience.

Across creation and history, God’s mercy never fails. As Psalm 136 repeats, “His faithful love endures forever.” God knew you before forming you in the womb, and He even counts the hairs in your hairbrush. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). When you see yourself through His love and forgive yourself for past mistakes, you can walk in real peace.

Think of an area where you have been rehearsing past hurts or losing sleep to worry. This week, write a single Bible verse on an index card, tape it where you will see it each morning, and take time to meditate on God’s promises instead of looking at your phone.

Is there something you need to bring to God? Send a prayer request. We’ll pray with you.

Related messages: Living Right in a Wrong World, His Mercy Endureth for Ever, Every Person Matters to God.