When You Want to Know What to Do

It was a dark and stormy night.

Really.

I had no idea as I left my house last Saturday night that I'd be driving into a MAJOR thunderstorm. The further north I drove, the darker and more ominous the sky got. Huge clouds moved across the road before my eyes. Soon winds shook my van and the rain, slapped around by strong gales, forced me to pull over for a few minutes.

It wouldn't have been a big deal except that my back seats held my nephews who are six and four. Other than an occasional, "Um, I'm kind of scared," they did pretty well with the storm, but when we got to their house where the power had been knocked out, everybody was upset, even the dog!

We managed to find a flashlight and decided to pass the time by reading books in bed. The six-year-old thumbed through his bookshelf and started a small pile, when suddenly he had an idea and ran over to his dresser. He picked up his Bible and brought it over to our stack of books, placing it at the bottom.

"We'll save this one for last," he said and then added, "When you want to know what to do, you look in here."

We settled in, reading about Lightning McQueen and Mater, followed by a book about Wall-E and five little ducklings. Book after book after book, yet their questions kept coming.

"When is my daddy going to be home? Is Mommy coming? Will they be here soon?"

We reached the bottom of the stack and I climbed out of bed to grab a Kleenex. The only book left was the Bible and since there were no pictures to show them, I kneeled next to the bed to read instead of sitting between them. They settled into their pillows and listened quietly. As I read about David and Goliath, the questions, the anxiousness stopped. We moved on to Noah's Ark (What? It seemed appropriate for a stormy night.) and their little eyes drooped. Before too long, they were fast asleep.

Were they just tuckered out? Would we have achieved the same effect had we started with the Bible? Maybe it's a stretch, but it made me think about the power of God's Word. Can uttering it calm even a child's anxious soul?

And then I remembered his words, "When you want to know what to do, you look in here."

At only six-years-old, he believed it. He knew there was something special about the Bible. That's supernatural, isn't it, when a child recognizes its value? Can you teach a kid to know that or does God through His Word turn on the light switch? My young nephew's conviction and the effect of the Bible's words on both boys convinced me it is more than a book.

"When you want to know what to do, you look in here."

Amen, buddy. Don't you ever forget it.

For the word of God is living and active . . .

Hebrews 4:12

Thanks to my friend Mark Canfield for his awesome pic!