Friday, July 13, 2012

God's Word: Its Power and Importance in My Life

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Wednesday night, as I  was listening to the pastor teach a lesson on contending for our faith, he referred the scripture 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?", to encourage us to build ourselves up spiritually in order to protect ourselves from being led astray; to keep our faith strong. When I thought deeper into this matter, I was reminded of how easy it is to be unaware of certain things that are important in the quest of living a life of holiness and maintaining your faith without the word of God in your life. While it is simple to most Christians to identify problem areas that are more obvious to the eye; it can take years to recognize problems deeper within the heart.

Examining yourself is not only good advice, it is a necessity. But, to be able to effectively examine yourself, you must read and hear the word of God regularly; meditate and pray upon His words. Beginning at the moment we are first saved, God's grace is poured out upon our lives as He is working on us, changing our hearts. Not us, but Him. However, you must feed upon His Word daily with an open heart and in prayer in order to fully understand His desires for and expectations of you.

When I was first saved, I was at one of the lowest points of my life, completely lost and broken. Only 7 months before, my father and stepmother had given me an excellent study Bible as a gift...which I had yet to open. Now, here I was, broken and alone. Out of desperation for help...for comfort, peace, hope...well, everything I needed to be free from the deep darkness I was in and had finally realized my own efforts were only causing more destruction. I buried myself in that Bible. The more I studied it, the more I wanted to. Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled". My eyes were finally opened and God revealed to me so much about myself, down into the depths of my innermost being. I began my path to healing, true healing, God's healing. I knew then that all my problems had been caused by my own transgressions and God was the only solution to my suffering. Through God's grace, there was a lot to be changed in my life...in my heart. I believe that because of my state of complete emptiness and being desperate for God's deliverance and restoration, my heart was changed nearly instantaneously in many ways. Once angry and bitter, I became humble and compassionate. God's word gave me comfort and peace that I had never experienced, even in the midst of a raging storm which would have been unbearable without God. Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and my through Jesus Christ". My amazing strength and peace during that time not only proved to me the power of God and his everlasting mercy and love, it was also a testimony to those close to me. Sure, I had moments of weakness and plenty of failures, but God is always faithful to forgive. Had I continued on without turning my life and my heart over to God, I would never have found peace and I cannot imagine where I would have ended up.

A couple of years after I was first saved, I experienced several major changes in my life that were unexpected and difficult to bear. I found myself in a place where I was literally alone. With all of the people in my life that had been my comforters and encouragers gone, I had to bear this burden alone. Instead of turning to God as I had for 2 years, I turned to my old methods of coping with pain on my own. However, even in those times, God's word was so implanted in my mind that I carried the guilt of being away from Him, as He was always on my mind and constantly sent reminders to me of my life in His arms, in His closeness. That is how powerful His word was in my life. It was truly written on my heart and never erased from my mind. After several years of being stubborn, that very truth that was written on my heart is what led me back to Him. I thank Him for never leaving me, for He was always with me even when I was unfaithful to Him.

Today, I study His word daily. Learning from my past mistakes, I fully understand that I need Him in every area of my life and His word is how He speaks to us to give us all the wisdom we need to survive in this world and to experience His glory. The pastor was right on target when he advised us to read the word of God in the spirit and to examine ourselves. Without knowledge of the truth we cannot effectively examine ourselves AND we cannot be protected from the deceitfulness of Satan, who is very cunning and always seeking to destroy Christians through their weaknesses, which he is watchful for and attentive to. In the Bible you can find many scriptures where God tells you the importance of His word in our lives. A few that are dear to me and always serve as a reminder to me how important it is to wake up at 4:30a.m. to spend time in His word even when life is busy and I may be exhausted are as follows:

Hebrews 4:12 (showing the overall power of His word)

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

2 Timothy 2:9 (showing His word is eternal and cannot be destroyed or contained)

"for which I have suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains, but the word of God is not chained"

Revelation 20:4 (showing He is His word)

" He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God"

Roman 10:17 (use for our building of faith)

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"

Ephesians 6:17 (use for our protection)

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"


Thank you Lord for giving us your word. Without it, where would we find direction, hope, comfort, or see Your power and awesomeness? Help me to stay faithful in studying Your word daily and to hear You speak to me through it. I long to grow closer to You and I know that I have to spend time with You in Your word in order to strengthen our relationship. I pray also that Your name is glorified in all that I do and even that my words in this journal will touch and encourage someone. Thank you Lord! Amen!

*Have a blessed day everyone :)

***I have attached a music video that is a beautiful and inspirational song. Also, this video is awesome and has more powerful scriptures that speak the power and importance of God's word.





2 comments:

  1. Awesome and Inspiring! Love it! I truly admire your strong will to overcome the hurtful past, and cling to God and the word! He allows us to go through things in order to make us WANT and NEED HIM more. He molds us like clay. We should thank God for our trials, because they help us to realize just how much we need him. It is wonderful that you decided to start reading that bible, and become the better person you are today. The best part is, you are trying to help others SEE...and so beautifully written. Thanks for sharing the video too. Inspirational song, and bible verses. Beverly Bowen

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  2. Great testimony buddy and right on target. God desires a heartfelt relationship with us and not religion (Matt. 15:8-9) which you have surely found. Your writing comes from the new heart God has placed in you replacing the darkness that was there. I am so gratefull you have come into the Light. Doesn't it give you more joy than that past writing in the darkness? Love you girl. Tim Yaw

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