I want to be called Myrtle. You read that right. God has a sense of humor.

The prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31 tells a woman to not gad about.

Gad about? Who talks like that?

So I look it up. A gadabout is a habitual pleasure-seeker. Synonyms are traveler, globetrotter or wanderer. It was funny to me, but I guess you had to be there.

In my quiet time today, I started in John 4 reading about the woman who met Jesus at the well. I love that Jesus so often spoke metaphorically. Here He tells her about the living water that would spring up as a fountain within. Ah, living water!

I’m a reader who loves to dig into the Word, one who notices those scripture references at the end of a verse. Have you ever criss-crossed your bible, flipping back and forth? Today was one of those days. I began in John 4, turned to John 7, then to Isaiah 55 … onto Jeremiah 31, only to end in Revelation 4. Whew, a journey for sure!

What began in John with tears as His Word hit my heart like an arrow, bringing forth repentance and prayer conversation … was interrrupted with laughter.

I mean, seriously …. go look at Isaiah 55:1 NKJV. Go on, click. I’ll wait.

Did you find it?

What!?  Who you calling a ho, God?

Ho–calls the most earnest attention.  Ah-ha. I see. Old Testament prophet speak.

We know that when the Lord tells us in Isaiah 55:1 to “come buy and eat,” He is urging us to purchase, invest in and make His Word your own, you shall eat, that is, experimentally enjoy it (John 6:53).

Like you, my friends, I find great pleasure in eating God’s Word.

Isaiah 55:12-13 promises that if we feast on His Word, we will … go out with joy, be led with peace and clap our hands. Instead of briers, our lives will be like myrtle trees as an everlasting sign of the goodness of the Lord.

We also know that myrtle in Hebrew refers to Hedassah, the original name of Esther, who is a type of the Christian Church; for it is a lowly, though beautiful, fragrant, and evergreen shrub. 

Psalms 92:12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” 

Just call me Myrtle. 

Categories: Bible Study Devotionals Inspiration Photography Women in Scripture

Tagged as: bible gadabout Bible humor briers in scripture devotional Esther gadabout in bible Hebrew names humor Isaiah 55 Jeremiah 31 John 4 living water Myrtle trees Psalm 92 Revelation 4 woman at well

Kathryne

Christian author and inspirational speaker of truth that makes the darkness tremble. Author of two non-fiction books.