Spiritual Mining: Value God’s Word to You
I want to share a concept I call spiritual mining. It’s a likely topic for the monthly discipleship class (see the home page for more information), so I’ll give a general overview here.
mining: the process or business of digging in mines to obtain jewels, metals, etc.
mine (n.): a rich source of supply of something (e.g. information); a pit or tunnel from which minerals (e.g. coal, gold, diamonds, etc.) are taken
mine (v.): to search for something valuable in something, to extract from a source, to dig in order to find and take away coal, gold, diamonds, etc.
This “Bible research method” opened up for me years ago when a sweet couple at the church I attended — powerful in prayer, intercession, prophecy and visions — gave me a prophecy. Their instruction was for me to “mine the vein”. I’m a native Texan with no exposure to mines or mining. But thanks to my early training, when I hear a new concept I look for it in Scripture. It never fails — some way, there will be a reference to search out. Here’s the one for mining.
Surely there is a mine for the silver, and a place where they refine gold. ~ Job 28:1 NASB
Good, right? Refine there means to strain, extract, and purify. This is what we do when we value God’s word to us. Let the days be over in our lives when we receive prophecy for the moment but to not take God’s word into battle. We are to take the prophecies, dreams, visions and inspired sayings and do more than just, “God, this is what you said!” No, we are to “wage a good warfare” with internal enemies and external forces according to what God’s said to us, and “keep the faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18-19). The result of us not waging war with the prophecies, keeping the faith and a good conscience is SHIPWRECKED FAITH…
Verses 1-11 of Job 28 explain the mining process — how men search the earth and pull out minerals, etc. Spiritually, when we commit to “mine the vein” for truth and insight, we bring what’s hidden into the light (v. 11).
Verses 12-22 explain that wisdom is harder to find than iron, or gold or silver. Verse 13 offers the reason that wisdom is harder to find.
Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. ~ Job 28:13 NASB
Bottom Line: We do not value wisdom. We like to think we do, but it takes discipline to hear and do God’s word (will). Think about how many people we call to share our dream or first insight, but when they check in 1-3 weeks later, we have not studied it out or developed it. Essentially, we content ourselves with half-baked revelation. Anything half-baked is a danger to digest. So then our spiritual engagement (warfare with the prophecy) limits us, and is even cheapened, because we ride high off the first thing God said…and often to not dig deep.
Let’s complete the work of revelation in us by mining the spiritual veins. Let’s value the access God gives and work the word until He reveals understanding, wisdom and knowledge. Verses 23-28 conclude with the main point — GOD KNOWS THE WAY OF WISDOM. HE KNOWS ITS PLACE. When our eyes open to the first truth, it is God’s invitation to meet Him in the place of wisdom and to learn fear of Him in the process. As understanding increases, we will want to depart from evil (v. 28) BECAUSE WE VALUE WHERE WE’VE BEEN WITH GOD.
Please, make time to share this post, and go back to your incomplete words, dreams, teachings, etc. Follow all the trails of Scripture where they lead, even when the “end” looks like a brick wall.
In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ~ Proverbs 14:23 NASB
2 Comments on “Spiritual Mining: Value God’s Word to You”
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The Bereans' Commentary with Shaunta D. Scroggins, Ed.D. 
What a good word!! I will keep this one!
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2015 13:54:10 +0000 To: susankelberlau@hotmail.com
Wow!! what a word. It was a beating I needed. My Lord.