The Word Of God Is Living

"I hope in your Word." Psalm 119:147 Greatly blessed is the one who puts his hope in the Word of God. This world is fallen and its principles are contrary to the Word of God; indeed, the Word of God is foolishness to the world. And those IN the world ...are unable to receive the Word of God. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are FOOLISHNESS to him, NOR CAN HE know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14 When faced with a difficulty, most run to the world for help and direction. Is THIS not foolishness then? What am I saying - that one should not go a doctor when needed, or to an expert in the area of our need? No, I'm saying that when one has a problem, his first recourse should be to go to the Lord and surrender the difficulty to him, putting it all under his sovereignty and asking his direction. He should ask the Lord for guidance - and that the Lord will surely provide. Only AFTER one has brought it all to the Lord, THEN he can go for help unless the Lord says otherwise. What exactly IS the Word of God? The Word of God, the Bible, is breathed of God and its continuity is unmistakable. From Genesis to Revelation it is the unveiling of who God is, who we are, why we're here, where we're going, and how to get there. From Genesis to Revelation it's all about the fallen state of mankind, and the atonement for him that Jesus Christ, God's son achieved for all who would put their trust in him. The Bible is not just words, the words are alive: "For the Word of God is LIVING and powerful..." Hebrews 4:12 A bit hard to understand maybe, but we're dealing with something supernatural and we don't need to understand it with our human intellect. Jesus Christ is the answer to all things. He created all things, and all things hold together in him. "FOR BY HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MAY HAVE THE PREEMINENCE." Colossians 1:16-18 If God goes to such lengths to teach us about his Word, should we not make his Word the foundation of our lives? Is that not his intent? Do we not insult him by going for help anywhere else first? For every situation in our lives, God has an answer. Sometimes it's not the answer we would expect. How can we know, unless we have brought it to the Lord first? Sometimes God heals, and sometimes he doesn't. Why is that? And the answer is: we don't know why, but we can be sure there is a specific reason because everything that happens in the life of the believer has passed first through his hand. Therefore, we need to get HIS direction in our problem, and likewise in every problem we face. One night my sister and I had returned to the home we grew up in because our mother was going to have very serious surgery the next day and she might not survive it, so the family was called. Back in the bedroom we had shared as children, we went to the Lord about the situation. We had pretty much accepted the fact that our mother would probably be taken to heaven the next day, so our prayers were for strength to get through it and to be a light to our unsaved loved ones. Suddenly, the Lord appeared "in the spirit." That means I saw him but not physically - like in a dream, I don't know how else to describe it, but it was very, VERY real. He was standing at the end of our beds and he spoke saying, "everything is going to be all right." I was absolutely shocked. I surely was not expecting that! I leaped out of the bed and ran to my father and said, "the Lord says everything is going to be all right!!!" My father didn't react either positively or negatively because he just couldn't believe that the Lord would speak to me. The next day we went to the hospital and my mother had her surgery. And everything was all right. She went on to live many more years after that, into her nineties. On the other hand, many times the Lord chooses not to heal. I knew a woman deeply loved by multitudes of people she had brought to the Lord. She developed a medical condition and scores of people, hundreds of people were praying for her healing. In spite of all that, she died. I saw her the night before she died and upon leaving I said, "I'll see you again," not knowing she was going to die the next day, and though she couldn't speak, her eyes lit up and she shook her head yes, yes, YES! It was not God's will to heal her at this time, though SO many people were praying for her. And she was fine with that. We need to have enough faith to accept it when God says, "No." The most important thing in life is finding out what God's will for any situation is, and THEN we proceed to use the helps in the world that are available to us. That's what faith is all about - it's putting God first, allowing God to be the Lord in every situation in life, and giving him time first to speak to us through his Word, the Bible. "I hope in your Word." Psalm 119:147 Let this be the foundation of your life, and your life just might go differently from what you thought. And to you who believe, he has promised to work everything out for the good, and I can surely testify the truth of that! "And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 Not to everyone, but to those who are his.