One of the things I love about this whole Illustrated Faith movement, is the fact that I am not only “getting into the Word” but that I am digging so deeply into The Word. I am the girl that loves doing Beth Moore Bible Studies strictly for the fact that she can pick apart a verse and dig so deep into it that it can take up all 5 nights of homework. There are just so many gems in the Bible that are hidden throughout it.
Today I thought I would share with you an example of how this happened for me the other day. Last month, I got my Studio Calico Project Life Kit which had this cork embellishment that said #SorryNotSorry. I seriously use that statement a lot when joking with my husband so instantly I knew I had to use it. I mentally went through my brain thinking about how I could use this phrase in The Bible. (cue visuals of Biblical Characters using this phrase, lol).
I thought about themes of sorrow and repentance but still couldn’t think of any specific verse or event where my little phrase would work.
At that point, I turned to google :) I typed in “Sorry Not Sorry in the Bible” and a list of great verses that mirrored the sentiment came up!! I chose a verse, 2 Corinthians 7:8 and then I started my deep digging. Yes, “For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while,” is pretty much saying Sorry Not Sorry but I wanted to know more, I wanted to make a more meaningful connection for myself before I illustrated it in my Bible.
Next, I took that verse and searched through countless commentaries about it. I found a commentary by Matthew Henry and found the perfect little gem that I was looking for:
Henry writes, “Sorrow according to the will of God, tending to the glory of God, and wrought by the Spirit of God, renders the heart humble, contrite, submissive, disposed to mortify every sin, and to walk in newness of life. And this repentance is connected with saving faith in Christ, and an interest in his atonement. There is a great difference between this sorrow of a godly sort, and the sorrow of the world. The happy fruits of true repentance are mentioned. Where the heart is changed, the life and actions will be changed. It wrought indignation at sin, at themselves, at the tempter and his instruments. It wrought a fear of watchfulness, and a cautious fear of sin. It wrought desire to be reconciled with God. It wrought zeal for duty, and against sin. It wrought revenge against sin and their own folly, by endeavours to make satisfaction for injuries done thereby. Deep humility before God, hatred of all sin, with faith in Christ, a new heart and a new life, make repentance unto salvation. May the Lord bestow it on every one of us.”
I mean come on!! This verse was just taken to a whole other level. When repentence for a sin of mine leads me to salvation, humbles me, and strengthens my faith, the only thing I can possibly say is #Sorrynotsorry!!!
I love this Janel! Such beautiful words from just that little cork hashtag. I’m like you, I love Beth Moore’s studies and how she can use so many verses to explain so many different points. Really enjoying seeing your Bible pages.
Thank you for the explanation. You made it easy to understand the whole sorry-not sorry theme of this verse. Never have done a Beth Moore study. Going to have to check that out.
This totally grabbed my heart. Thank you so much for sharing. “Digging” is the word I use, too. It is like uncovering a great treasure…solving a mystery…or finding something good I hadn’t seen before. Love this!
This is great! I love how you explained your whole process of bible journaling. From embellishment, to Google, to verse, to commentary. Fabulous! :-)
I’m a huge fan of Beth Moore’s studies for the same reason you mentioned. I am new to Bible art journaling and I’ve found myself just wanting to make a page “pretty” without really making it a part of my testimony or my personal journey. I want the fun part without the digging, searching and work part first with the Lord. Reading your post this morning helped me to see that this process cannot and should not be hurried. The page I did this morning in my haste turned out flat, boring and not at all what I wanted. Fortunately, I can “undo” most of it and go back and do it in the correct order.