Let's just sit here on this for a minute of how God's word never comes back empty, (Isaiah55:11). The Word of God is living and active. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. It opens the core of our hearts to expose the sin in our lives so that we can break free from it to not fall back into sin.
Therefore, we can trust that His word is never empty-handed but full of truth that illuminates the darkness around us. It sheds light on what we need to see. Something else we can take to the bank God fights for us. He shields us in the battle against the enemy. And we are never alone because God is always with us.
Taking God at His word means believing and realizing His words do not come with flattery or false hope but with the truth. Thus, in taking God at His word we see how He changes us for the better. Believing what God says is gaining momentum within our faith and not letting go.
For example, the Word of God is good news and it is also the love of God written to us but also entrusted to us to further it. This means God's Word was not only written to us but also we could see how trustworthy God is in fulfilling His promises. Even by using people that no one expects and transforming their lives to bring redemption.
"For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a preset for greed God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ."(1 Thessalonians2:3-6ESV).
"Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."(2 Timothy2:13-14ESV).
It seems like that guarding the good the deposit that God has entrusted to us is getting harder to guard and keep sacred. Just like following the pattern of the sound words of God's truth is getting harder to keep close to our hearts since there is all this other stuff in a culture trying to capture our heart's attention.
This world and culture want us to disbelieve in God and reject him by disbelieving who He has created us to be in His image. And this culture wants us to reject or change what God created. However, we should not be ashamed of the gospel nor who God created us to be. The culture bombards us with so many images and tactics to turn our attention away from God.
Yet, following the sound words of God's truth is not impossible. We just have to press into the presence of God and use self-control with the rest of the fruit of the spirit to not lose faith or hope in what God has spoken over us. It is seeking God earnestly with a pure heart, pure motives, and letting go of the past that cannot be changed.
This also means taking God at His word by remaining grounded in the truth by saturating ourselves into scripture. However, it also means avoiding irreverent babble and slanderous gossip that leads to hurting others by the power of our words.
What it boils down to is by taking God at His word we are believing He is trustworthy even when we fall short or fail God does not. When we take God at His word we are like a tree firmly planted in the ground with deep roots that cannot be uprooted or stuck down. Besides, when we are firmly planted in God's word we never go hungry nor thirsty because we are satisfied in Jesus.
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."(Psalm 1:1-3ESV).
The love of Jesus is enough and it is fulfilling which is contrary to what the culture of this world says. This also means taking God at His word is counter-culture to this world and secular culture.
But then everything Jesus did within His ministry and even thought out His whole life is counter-culture to when He walked upon this world in flesh and blood. Yet, I love how that did not stop Him from fulfilling the Father's will.
Jesus is a prime example that He took God the Father at His word and did not doubt or disbelieve what His Father spoke over Him to do. Instead, Jesus humbled himself to submit to the Father's will to do the ultimate sacrifice to give up His own life to save the world, (John 3:16-17). Jesus took God the Father at his word and submitted himself to the Father's will to fulfill prophecy.
The point is Jesus did not have to do what He did to save us. Jesus did not have to die for us. Yet, without the sacrifice of himself, there would be no point in redemption. Sometimes I cannot fully wrap my head around the fact that Jesus died for us willingly to save us all from sin. Without Jesus, we would still be sinners separated from the love of God. Jesus did not have to come into this world in flesh and blood to save us.
Therefore, once we take God at His word we must remain there and not give up the ground we fought for. It is about taking that journey of faith and not letting fear or doubt cripple our hearts or minds from seeing the truth.
God will not fail us and He will not disappoint us. God is faithful and trustworthy. God always provides for us. God is gracious and He gives us strength to keep going, to keep believing the truth.
Yes, there will be times we will suffer or go through hard times or trials yet we will not be alone for God is with us. Will we fail or fall short? Yes, we will but God will still be with us. God is the one who will lift us up and help us when our faith is little.
Let's face it, God can do a lot with a little bit of faith. We just need the courage to walk it out along the way. It may seem a little scary stepping out in faith and believing what God says is true. But in the end, it is far more rewarding than anything in this entire life here on earth.
Being able to take God at His word takes the tenacity of quieting our hearts so that we can hear Him. Otherwise, the noise of this world will keep flooding our minds and hearts to keep us at unease or in fear. By quieting our hearts we are willingly letting go of the contradictions of the truth to bask in the truth of God that is never empty-handed.
Every time I turn around it seems like something else happens to detour me from believing God is faithful, trustworthy, and always good. Yet, I refuse to deny who God is and what He has done. I refuse to let the enemy win when God has already defeated him. The point is I refuse to let the enemy have a foothold within my life.
This is why I am writing and sharing this with you so you do not have to fall into the trap of the scheming enemy. The enemy wants you crippled down on the floor in fear and doubt. But Jesus wants you to live in freedom, not fear.
God's spoken word and promises never come back void.
References:
English Standard Version Study Bible (2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton ILL,
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