Morning Devotional
June 21, 2005
"Digging Deeper"   
    by Don Emmitte

But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way; fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 NLT).

 

There are a few places in North Carolina where you can go blueberrying. Picking your own berries can be very satisfying, both when you eat them later and as you pick them! I am told that the secret to filling up your buckets with the sweetest berries is to dig deeper into the bushes.

 

We should all be so wise. How often would it pay to dig just a little deeper, try harder, and work a little harder. One lecturer emphasized, "If it was easy, anyone could do it. You have to work harder to succeed." Are you teaching your children the wisdom of going deeper? In studying things like the Holy Scriptures, too, how often do we just skim something quickly to complete an assignment for religious education classes or small group study? What if we read the assignment at least once or twice then looked up additional material in other texts? Why is it that the teacher of such groups always gets the most out of a session? It is because he or she has spent time studying, digging, preparing (we hope.) But how much richer the whole class would be if all the members had similarly prepared.

 

I often wish people dug deeper in their conversations. When people have the most conflict or disagreement, it is often because they have not taken the time to dig beneath surface issues and really listen. That is the secret of things like successful conflict mediation. The genius of this method of resolving differences and conflict is that it makes a setting for conflicting sides to both air their problems in complete detail, and also listen completely to the other side. Usually when we take the time to truly listen, or even in talking through to find our own deep feelings ourselves, new ideas for how to resolve a conflict or at least compromise and agree to disagree will emerge. All of this takes time and energy, which always seems in too short of supply. The siren call to give in to sleep, laziness, or the TV usually beckons us. Yet we find the time to do the things we really want to do, the things that are important. Taking the time to dig deeper yields the good stuff.

 

Commit yourself to getting the best out of life by digging a little deeper! You won’t be disappointed!