By: Jenni Walker

“I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness; I declare things that are right.”  (Isaiah 45:19)

“The law of God contains in itself the dynamic of the new life by which His image is fully restored in us; but by nature we are sluggish, and, therefore, we need to be stimulated, aided in our efforts by a guiding principle.”  (John Calvin)

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We discussed last week (The Truth Questions) how we as followers of Christ must be cautious that we do not unwittingly begin to pick and choose for ourselves what is true and what isn’t based on personal preferences or popular opinions. Paul’s exhortation in 2 Timothy 4:2-4 presents a clear warning to us as believers in a society that considers truth to be relative to the individual: “Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their eyes away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (NKJV).

It is critical a critical part of the Christian life to make the choice to surrender every area of our hearts and lives to the authority of God’s Word.  God is the Author of Truth!  His Word is the framework by which we tackle the tough questions in life.  His Word is the foundation for our belief system!  His Word is a “lamp” to our feet and a “light” to our path (Psalm 119:105). 

In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  We cannot say that we love God but pick and choose what parts of His Word to obey.  Either His Word has full authority in our lives or it does not.  Just like a theology student who studies the Bible intellectually without surrendering his or her life to the will of God does not truly know the Lord, in the same way a woman who says she loves the Lord but who does not seek to obey Him and know Him through His Word does not truly know Him either.   All throughout Scripture, Jesus Christ and the Word of God are demonstrated as a package deal.

Once you have submitted your life fully to God through the truth of His Word, then it is a matter of living it out in each and every situation.  This is not only so you can have the right answers or say you are doing the right things.  Rather, it is to know and experience God, the Author of truth, and to help others do the same.  Scripture and the Christian life go hand-in-hand.  You can’t have one without the other!    

Corrie Ten Boom knew this well.  Corrie, her sister, and her father believed that the truth of the Bible compelled them to take action in the face of evil by offering their Dutch home as a place for Jews in need of refuge during World War II.  The Jews they were harboring, several family members, and she were discovered and sent to concentration camps.  With God’s help, she and her sister, Betsie, smuggled a little Bible in to Ravensbruck.  In her book, Tramp for the Lord, Corrie writes of that experience, “Behind us guards were shouting, prodding us with their guns.  Instinctively my hand went to the string around my neck.  From it, hanging down my back between my shoulder blades, was the small cloth bag that held our Bible, that forbidden Book which had not only sustained Betsie and me throughout these months, but given us strength to share with our fellow prisoners.  So far we had kept it hidden…”

After a harrowing entrance to Ravensbruck, and divine intervention by Almighty God to get that little Bible past the camp guards, Corrie writes, “So Betsie and I came to our barracks at Ravensbruck.  Before long we were holding clandestine Bible study groups for an ever-growing group of believers, and Barracks 28 became known throughout the camp as ‘the crazy place where they hope.’  Yes, hoped, in spite of all that human madness could do.  We had learned that a stronger power had the final word, even here.” 

Ladies, let the Word of God have the “final word” in all areas of your heart and life!  David prays in Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”  To truly follow Jesus as Lord is to bring our lives under the authority and truth of His Word.  He says in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

Seasons of life shift, world events change, and feelings come and go.  Our world more than ever needs us to build our lives on the enduring truth of God’s Word!  In doing so, you will find that not only do questions begin to be answered but that your life will be anchored by it, and your relationship with God will deepen in trust and in intimacy.  “I, the Lord, speak righteousness; I declare things that are right” (Isaiah 45:19).    

TIME TO REFLECT

1. Take some time to reflect honestly with the Lord about today’s devotion topic. What is the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart?

2. Revisit today’s Scripture passages. What do these verses teach us?  How do they change things? (i.e. The way that we live?  What we live for?  Our experience of God?)

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(This devotion contains excerpts from The Wholehearted Woman: Who She is and Why She Matters  by Beth Doohan and Jenni Walker.)