I am often blown away by the faith of some folks I run into. Their walks seem to be steady and confident. Storms don’t shake them. They are stable on the mountain tops and rock solid in the valleys. You would have to describe them as “people of faith.” They seem to understand that, no matter what, God has their back. On the surface, these folks don’t seem to have much reason to be so confident. They are often poor, imprisoned, handicapped, young, even kids . . . losers. How do they get to have such faith? What’s the secret?
People of faith seem always to be people of the Word. Scripture never seems to be far from their hearts or their lips. Words that flow from them are often words of scripture. It’s not just that they can quote scripture, but the appropriate scripture always seems to “pop up.”
From this we can conclude that these folks read the word. It’s amazing how many Christians rarely pick up the bible. They may read Christian books or Christian blogs, but seldom go directly to the Word. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says, So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We can’t expect to be people of faith unless we are people of the Word.
But these “Faith Livers” don’t just quote scripture. They live it. James tells us But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.James 1:22-24 (NKJV)
Why do these special folks read and do the word? It’s because they have tried it and they like it. They have tested the word and found it to be true. Scripture will never have real meaning for us unless we put it to the test. The words of instruction and advice will come to life if we will just try them out. This comes a little bit at a time.
It’s okay to test God and His word. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:9-11
Want to walk steady with God through hill and valley, through storm and calm? Read it. Do it. Test it. Kids can do it, why not us.
And be blessed.
Nick
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