You have to study and dig into the Bible for yourself. You have to dig to understand no more limits. Most people do not have any desire to dig into their Bibles until they find themselves in a crisis. Once in the crisis, they are motivated to dig into their Bibles to learn what they need to know to survive.
I remember when we had a St. Bernard dog named Eric. My wife, Jeanne, brought him home as a puppy. He was a precious little ball of fur, but he grew to be 200 pounds. I thought that I would make a housedog out of him until I heard this gnawing sound in the middle of the night.
I went into the living room and he had chewed the arm off our couch. He had chewed the leather off, the foam rubber, everything. He had also regurgitated it all over the floor and was gnawing into the wood. That was the last time he was in the house. After this, he went outside to live the rest of his life.
Our next-door neighbor had beagle dogs that barked at everything. If the wind blew they barked; if a leaf fell they barked; they barked at everything. Eric would walk around our yard and these beagles would stick their noses through a knothole in the fence and bark at him.
They would just bark and bark. Eric would become tired of this. He would walk up to them, stick his nose in that knothole and bark once with his powerful sounding bark. The beagles would scatter.
Our neighbor built dog pens for his beagles. One of the dog pens was next to the fence. One day one of these little beagles wanted to see what was on the other side of the fence. He climbed on top of the dog pen next to the fence and jumped over into our yard. Here is our big St. Bernard lying there and all of a sudden he sees this little dog.
Eric stands up and lumbers over to investigate this little dog. This beagle sees this giant St. Bernard coming towards him. He panics and drives at the bottom of the fence and begins to dig and dig trying to return to his side of the fence. After he goes about half way under the fence, he becomes stuck. I can tell he thinks this big dog is coming after him, because he starts yelping and barking and digging with all four legs.
He is doing all he can to go under that fence to return to where he belongs. He becomes stuck for a moment, but then he pushes himself through to the other side.
I share this story to say this: the only time some Christians dig for the things of God is when they are stuck under the fence and the devil’s coming after them and their hind parts are sticking out. Then, they begin to dig into the Bible furiously because they are in a crisis.
This is not the way it should be. You should dig into the Bible all the time. Every day you should be digging, digging and digging some more to find out what God has promised you.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Happy Caldwell is the founder and Pastor of Agape Church, a strong, Spirit-filled body of believers in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is Founder and President of the Victory Television Network, which operates two full-power Christian television stations in Little Rock and Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is also President of the International Convention of Faith Ministries (ICFM) located in Little Rock Arkansas.
Happy has an anointed way of presenting the Word of God in profound simplicity, making the character of God a revelation to those who hear. In 1979, God spoke to him to build a spiritual production center which would deliver the gospel throughout Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States, and the world. The Spirit of God has instructed him in the principles of taking a city for Jesus Christ. Through this revelation and a daily television program, "Arkansas Alive" (via the Victory Television Network), the city of Little Rock is being changed into a "city of light."
Happy has recorded several record albums and is known for his heartfelt worship to God. He has also authored several books.