January 7, 2013
The Word and our relationship with the Lord are the constants in our lives as Christians and in our service for the Lord. Everything can change in our lives—our circumstances, our health, our homes, our countries of residence, our ministries—but His Word never fails to guide us and to be an enduring presence in our lives. It is our spiritual ballast, our anchor, our moral and spiritual compass, our lifeblood, our joy, our peace, our hope, our vision, and our comfort. The Word has been—and is—core to who we are, our way of life, our beliefs, our values, our mission, how we raise our children, how we conduct ourselves, and it has sustained us through all the challenges that we have faced throughout the years.
Your connection with the Lord is a priceless treasure, the pearl of greatest price, something that is of immense value. No one can chart the course of your life and faith for you, or tell you precisely how the Lord wants you to operate and the decisions you need to make in your walk with Him. Within that broad tunnel of Christian principles, the Lord wants to accompany you in your personal walk of faith. How He leads you to express your discipleship could be radically different in some ways from how others feel called to express their discipleship—and we should celebrate those differences and empower others to identify their personal calling and path, and support them on their journey.
Although each of us has to personally connect with the Lord and seek His will, the Word of God continues to be the foundation of our faith. God’s Word is the essence of our life of faith. The Word is:
Here is a review of some of the Bible verses that are the foundation for our understanding of the crucial role of God’s Word:
The Word, both new and old, is overflowing with beautiful and timeless promises, prophecies, and words—more than we can even retain and hide in our hearts. There are also many things written in the Word for our instruction, so that we can benefit from the lessons of faith that others have learned.15 There are writings that chronicle the history of God’s people for their time, and their experiences and lessons of faith. We can draw moral or spiritual lessons and principles from these writings and strive to apply these to the context we live in today.
The Lord has taught us a lot through the years about trusting Him, even when things don’t go so well or don’t turn out right in our eyes. I’m sure that for the children of Israel who left Egypt with Moses, things didn’t look too great when they were lacking in basic necessities and wandering in the desert for 40 years. Many of them lost heart and sinned in God’s eyes through complaining about their lot in life, and therefore never even got to enter the Promised Land of their future after forsaking so many things and undergoing such hardship. They couldn’t see the wonderful future God had prepared for His people of faith, which would eventually lead up to Jesus’ coming.
Reading about the lives of the great missionaries like Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Mary Slessor, David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, etc., if you didn’t look at their lives through the eyes of faith, you could draw the conclusion that things didn’t turn out so great for them a lot of the time. They suffered incredible hardships, lost loved ones, often operated with very little funding or resources, suffered illness, and in many cases, almost unbearable loneliness. Certainly, if they had chosen to live their lives otherwise, their lives could have been much easier. They could have stayed in their homelands, they could have had greater comforts for their families; they might have avoided the loss of their loved ones if they hadn’t been exposed to foreign illnesses or physical hardship.
They were willing to face such hardship because they chose to trust in the God factor. They endured “as seeing Him who is invisible.”16 That was an awful lot of enduring to do, and I’m guessing if you’re like me, you’ve wondered at times if you could endure to the degree that they did. I’m sure many average believers of their day who observed their hardships wondered what the point was in all that sacrificing, if it was really worth it.
These men and women of faith were often almost alone in their quest, following the voice of God and His calling for them with very little support. It all came down to the God factor, seeing God, Him who is invisible. How much faith those words of David Livingstone represented, when he said, “I never made a sacrifice!” Of course, we know by history that he actually made many difficult, heartrending sacrifices that must have been a living death. Becoming one of God’s greats cost him everything, and I’m guessing there were a lot of unanswered “whys” in his life. So even if some things in life are unclear to you or just plain don’t make sense, you can trust that the Lord will continue to be your shepherd, guiding you to green pastures and cool waters of His words that will refresh your soul and strengthen you.
He’s the ultimate in God’s Word! As John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”17 Jesus is the Living Word, so ask Him to guide you and speak to you personally. He’s the Living Word that always applies to every situation and to every period of history since the beginning of the world and all the way to the end of it.
So if you ever feel like your faith is in crisis, I encourage you to go back to the foundation—Jesus—and find your footing there on the “Rock of Ages.” Ask the Lord to speak to you and give you the answers you seek. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth and bring comfort and peace to your heart.
Faith still comes by hearing the Word of God, and the entrance of His words gives light and understanding.18 These principles are timeless, so please continue to strengthen and ground your faith through reading His words and receiving His inspiration, instruction, and guidance for your personal life and walk with Him.
Originally published November 2010. Adapted and republished January 2013.
Read by Tina Miles.
1 David Berg, November 1988, “The Word, the Word, the Word,” ML2484.
2 Matthew 4:4.
3 John 8:31–32.
4 Romans 10:17.
5 Romans 15:4.
6 Psalm 119:11.
7 Psalm 119:130.
8 2 Timothy 2:15.
9 John 6:63.
10 Matthew 24:35.
11 Psalm 119:105.
12 2 Peter 1:21.
13 Proverbs 1:23 NKJV.
14 Psalm 119:89.
15 Romans 15:4.
16 Hebrews 11:27.
17 John 1:1.
18 Romans 10:17; Psalm 119:130.
Copyright © 2024 The Family International