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And he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Revelation 10:11

The idea of ‘must’ here is not a command, but a statement of what will inevitably happen when one takes in the Word. How do you know you’ve really heard the Word? When you have compassion for the sinner and/or conviction of your sin.

‘Then why go to Bible study?’ you ask. ‘Who wants a bitter belly? I want sweetness.’ And I understand this ...

I’m watching CNN on TV when a commercial for Compassion International suddenly appears: Sally Struthers showing starving kids in Africa or Southeast Asia.

‘Oh, no,’ I say to myself. ‘I don’t want to deal with this now.’ Click. Sally disappears. So do the kids.

That’s what people do with Church and devotions and witnessing. ‘I don’t want to go anymore,’ they say. ‘It makes my belly hurt.’ Click, Wednesday night Bible study, gone. Click, Thursday morning worship, gone. Click, devotions gone. ‘I don’t want to deal with this sin, these attitudes, that cynicism. Just give me the sweet stuff.’

But you know what happens to those people? Their lives begin to unravel because staying in the Word is the only way to experience prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8). Yes, it will trouble you. No doubt it may upset you. But as time goes on, you will begin to see that your life is centered and grounded, fruitful and prosperous because the Word always does its work.

My prayer is that we will be those who, like John, devour and digest Scripture — the bitter portions as well as the sweet — in order that we, like John, would impact our world for the Kingdom.