A Personal Revelation
How do you invite God’s Word into your life? It may seem like a simple question, but for many of us, the journey is anything but straightforward. Today, I want to share how Scripture became alive in my life and how God used it to answer a question I carried for over two decades.
The Beginning of My Bible Journey
When I first started attending my home church, I asked my pastor where to begin reading the Bible. He suggested starting with the Gospel of John. That led to bouncing around the Bible, absorbing pieces here and there.
Eventually, I opened up Genesis and started from the beginning. I was reading a King James Version, and I’ll be honest—it felt like I was reading a foreign language. It was difficult, overwhelming, and at times discouraging. Still, I didn’t give up. I knew deep down that I couldn’t let that confusion stop me. So, I looked for a Bible I could understand better and found the Life Application Study Bible. This helped, but I still longed for something deeper—more personal.
The Game-Changing Tool
Then one day, I discovered something I didn’t even know I needed—a spiral-bound Bible designed for notetakers. It changed everything for me. Suddenly, I had a place to write my prayers, my thoughts, my reflections, and questions all right alongside the Word. For the first time, the Bible became not just a book I was reading, but a conversation I was having with God.
The Moment of Revelation
With everything happening in the world today, especially in Israel and the Middle East, I felt compelled to go to the end of the Bible—to Revelation. What I didn’t realize then was that God was leading me not to just read the Word, but to experience a revelation of my own.
You see, for 26 years, I carried the deep, aching pain of losing my younger brother in a tragic car accident. I always wondered why it wasn’t me as I was supposed to be in the car that day, not him. For years, I asked God why. Why him? Why not me? I carried guilt, anger, and grief for years. The pain was so great that for a long time, I resented God. I couldn’t see past the grief and guilt.
But as I sat with my spiral Bible open to Revelation, something stirred me. I reached chapter 14 (my birthday number) —and my heart stopped when I read verses 4 and 5:
“These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.”
A wave of peace came over me. I wrote “my brother” in the margin and drew a heart around it. Then I heard the voice within whispering: “Go back to 4:1.”
And my heart skipped a beat. 4:1—April 1st. My brother’s angelversary.
A Divine Connection
Revelation 4:1: “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
I burst into tears. Tears of joy! After all these years, God answered the question that had haunted my soul. My brother was with Him. He always had been.
Verse 3 took it even further: “There was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald.”
My brother’s birthstone is emerald.
And then verse 7: “The fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.”
The accident happened on Eagle Lake Road. And to this day, my family and I see eagles at spiritually significant moments, especially during times of mourning and remembrance. The day we buried my mom—16 years after my brother’s passing—two eagles perched nearby on our way home, as if to say she was with him now.
I laughed through my tears. Overcome. Humbled. Grateful.
God answered!
Through His Word. Through symbols. Through love. He had been speaking all along. I just had to open the Word and listen.
My dear friends and readers, if you take anything from this, let it be this: You will find Him. He wants to be found. Whether it takes 26 years or one prayer whispered into the dark, God is near. His Word is alive, and His Spirit will meet you right where you are.
So pick up your Bible—any version that speaks to you. Write in the margins. Ask questions. Let your tears fall on the pages.
Because one day, those words won’t be just words. They will be your answers. They will be your peace. They will be your healing.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” —Psalm 34:18
Lovingly & Faithfully,
Sally
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