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Living the Word Through the Living Word
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:4 (NIV)
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To one degree or another, we’ll remember 2020 as the year of tribulation. Each of us can name several instances where we’ve been tested during this pandemic. People are experiencing food shortages. Money is low. And many have lost their jobs, and may never get them back. People have fallen ill. Too many have died. Everyone has been affected in one way or another. All of us are physically, emotionally, and spiritually separated from family and friends. Day by day, we’re growing weary and anxious to come together.
In our walk with Christ Jesus, we sometimes fail to recognize he feels our pain … he’s walked our walk … and he knows exactly what it’s like to be alone and abandoned. Whether we feel it or not, God is with us, just as he was with Christ as Christ hung on the cross. That’s a spiritual fact. A fact we affirm with “Amen” when it’s preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. We affirm it by tapping our feet when it’s echoed from a songbook. We affirm this spiritual fact by nodding our heads when someone speaks these words in our Bible class. But when it comes to living out the word through the living word, our faith waivers. Hardships come and we doubt. We forget our hurt is only solved through Christ. We forget that in spite of how we feel or what we’re going through, we are called to stand firm and to Live the Word through the Living Word.
Why do cares of the world easily overtake us and cause us to waver from God?
Could it be we’re sometimes treating God’s word as an insurance policy? Leaving it neatly inside a drawer, hidden away in some special place, easily accessible in times of need? Let me remind you: God’s Word is a love story—a story of reconciliation. His love letters should be read daily, diligently, prayerfully. Occasionally, we spend too much time from the loving words of the Father, forgetting how much he loves us, letting too much time come between us and the Holy One, unaware that the longer we go without reading his love letters, the farther we drift away. It’s like going through the day without eating. When we finally sit down for a meal, we gorge it because we’re so famished.
In the midst of desperation, we divulge God’s word in large quantities like a famished person who hasn’t eaten for days—looking for a quick fix—failing to discern the word, failing to allow his word to marinate. When our lives finally calm down, we realize how exhausted we’ve become. We pull away and rest, unaware weeks have passed … months … apart from the Word until the next crisis.
And there begins the cycle of our lives.
This is not what God calls us to do. He does not call you to live in desperation.
God calls us to meditate on his word. Not gorge it like animals. He wants us to think on it … apply it … be thankful for it … be in prayer about it … ask for ways to share it with others … to live out the word through the living word. To be specific, we are to mimic Jesus … mimic our forefathers who lived by faith … to wait upon the Lord with patience and diligence.
With my husband’s permission, I want to share his story so you can better understand what I mean.
Not too long ago, my husband’s duties changed at work. He’s not a man of words, and he almost hates the English language. English was never his favorite subject in high school. He was more of a math whiz; now a project engineer by trade. In his new duties at work, he has been asked to write large amounts of narratives to summarize the status of on-going government projects.
Because he clearly understands his dilemma, he began spending more time in deep prayer. Shortly after his prayer time, he goes in our second bedroom which we’ve transformed into an office. He works on one side of the room, and I work on the other. After one of his conference calls, I noticed his heightened frustration with people who wouldn’t do their jobs properly. Within days, he became visibly stressed, was restless in his sleep, if he slept at all. He’d often tell me, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not a good writer. There’s too much to learn in too short of time.” I asked him, “Have you prayed about it?” His reply was, “All the time.”
Ladies, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Did God not say,
“But when (you) ask, (you) must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6-8)
I looked at my husband in the eyes and recalled the story of Noah … how Noah spent much time physically laboring to build the ark.
I recalled the story of Joseph – how a young seventeen-year-old was sold into slavery by his own family and plunged into a foreign culture; cast among a people who spoke a different language. I stressed to my husband how Joseph served his masters as if serving God Almighty, served prisoners in the same way he wanted to be served … doing all this regardless of his circumstances. And, I would be at fault here, if I did not highlight Joseph’s closeness with God during his time of trials and tribulations. Though he was hurt and alone, he didn’t feed his anger. He didn’t whine over lost possessions or for what he perceived as the “good life.” And let me also say this: Joseph followed God’s lead without ever understanding why God allowed this to happen to him. Joseph didn’t piece it together until later … much later.
If you think your heartaches and pain will come from the world, you might need to rethink this. Your family (or whomever you consider family) can devastate you if you let them.
Joseph is you—devastated by your brothers and sisters. Joseph is me—abandoned, but not alone. And like all of us, he faced hardships, he faced loneliness, he faced false accusations (Potiphar’s wife), he faced people forgetting about him (the cupbearer – Genesis 40:23).
By the time I recited this biblical history to my husband, he shook his head and said, “I got it.”
But … I sat and wondered … did he really understand?
Later that same day, the truth was revealed. My husband’s co-worker telephoned and asked how he was doing. My husband replied, “I don’t know, man. I wish these people …”
I quickly interrupted the call by grunting, loudly. I spoke just as loud, by saying, “God is near. He hears. He will help you. Speak positively. Believe in the one who is able to save.”
After my husband’s call, I thought he would be angry that I interrupted him. But he stopped in front of my desk and said, “Thank you. I needed you to remind me and I appreciate it.”
Ladies, we are praying and reading our Bibles, hiding away in our closets, but sometimes we are “not” Living the Word Through the Living Word. Reading the word of God is of no benefit if we do not do what it says. “We’re like a man who looks himself in the mirror, and walks away and forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24) You and I must not be lazy, but be students of God’s Word. Under pressure, against our will, during hardships, in the middle of family strife, when demands on our time are high, we must still be obedient servants and submit to God’s commands.
What does submission to God look like?
Do you remember Abraham’s faith? Good! Now, you must mimic his faith. Although the odds are against you, you must climb that treacherous mountain in faith, JUST LIKE ABRAHAM. Abraham remembered God’s promise to make him a father of nations, and he believed God would bring his son, Isaac, up from the dead. JUST LIKE ABRAHAM, you must BELIEVE.
Again, I ask: What does submission to God look like?
A change of attitude — by “… counting it all joy … when we face trials and tribulations.” (James 1:2-3) This passage of scripture is calling you to look at your trials from a different perspective. Trials exist to perfect your faith. They don’t exist to sop up your tears. Neither should your trials pull up a chair so the two of you can have coffee to devise a plan to manipulate yourself out of your situation. Trials exist to make you wail. And in your wailing, you are to stand firm, cry out to God, hold tight to God’s word, BELIEVING God is able to help you withstand the forces against you. And once you have persevered through your trials, you become a stronger, more faithful, more steadfast child of God, who is in a better position to be an example to those around you.
You see,
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, and not lacking anything.” (James 1:4)
Let me ask you something: Have you ever met a strong Christian whose faith hasn’t been perfected by hardship?
Aren’t trials in our lives so perseverance can work its good work in you, so you can become mature, spiritual, and godly?
Without trials, there is no perfection of your faith. Without our faith being made perfect, we are no closer to God than the ungodly.
I understand … I get it. Some of us don’t want to be uncomfortable. You might be thinking: “Donna, you don’t understand what I’m going through. My husband won’t get up and go to church with me. It’s better I leave things alone. You see, Donna, my child is rebellious, and I’m doing good just to get him or her out of the door to school … to work. My mother … My family … none of them get along and they lean on me way too much.”
Is it not a fact that there’s always something aggravating and testing our faith, and causing us to stumble? Is it not better to be uncomfortable in our struggles and remain obedient in Christ Jesus who can save us, rather than be comfortable in our wickedness and die in our sins? Who wants an eternal death?
Be reminded—
Perseverance produces Maturity, Completeness – James 1:4
Don’t doubt – James 1:6
“Blessed is the man who perseveres … because he will receive a crown of life.” (James 1:12)
God’s mighty hand will raise us up and set us high on the mountaintops even though there is a calamity all around us. Psalm 91:7-10 reads:
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
If this is too hard to believe, I want you to sit still for a moment and remember the last tragedy you experienced … the last debacle you encountered … the trouble with your job … the empty refrigerator … the last time you struggled to pay utilities … the last time you were abandoned by family and friends.
Remember that pain?
Now, as you think back, can you relate to Psalm 91:7-10? Let’s read it again,
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
You believe it now? Can you also see our relationship with God is hinged on belief and faith? If you lack belief … pray to God for your unbelief. If you lack faith … pray God strengthens your faith.
In closing, please remember to act out what you hear and see in the living Word of God. Mimic the life of Christ, the examples of the apostles, the faith of our forefathers, your grandmother’s struggles, your momma’s faith. Change your attitude and learn to look forward to opportunities to persevere in your faith so it can be made perfect.
I have highlighted eight things to do and remember, but I’m out of time. You can find this list on my blog page at: www.awriterfirst.wordpress.com.
Very quickly, here are eight things to do and remember:
- Carve out 30 minutes a day to read the word of God. There are 24 hours in a day. Thirty minutes is exactly eight-tenths of a day. Is it really too much to ask to spend eight-tenths of your day with God?
- Each and every time you become panicky or afraid, read Psalm 91 over and over again until you have it memorized. Read it aloud. When your mind wanders, start over and read louder.
- Don’t let the world impose their wickedness on you. Remember, “…you are in the world, but not of the world.” (Romans 12:2)
- Pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17)
- You must develop a sincere love for one another. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:10)
- Stop engaging in foolish talk.
- Pray for those who don’t know the truth, for their end is near and it will be horrible to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Their end cannot be UNdone.
- Don’t be hardheaded. LISTEN to the Holy Spirit and FOLLOW his lead.
Amen.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share God’s word. May God continue to open your hearts to the truth and help you overcome the flesh so you can Live the Word Through the Living Word of God.
An encouraging video is below.
Donna B. Comeaux
Note: This is a Bible lesson I presented on the 8:00 p.m. Thursday Ladies Prayer Line on July 23, 2020.
If you would like to hear my lesson by telephone, dial: (515) 604-9300; Access Code – 635154; Lesson #229
An Unlikely Choice
I have read Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 many times. However, I’ve never encountered anything close to his spiritual transformation until I came across this video. It’s a full 15 minutes. Please, take the time to watch this in full. My commentary follows.
Sometimes, I walk through my Christian life in a daze, bumping into people and mindlessly saying “excuse me” before I’m finally knocked in the head by some calamity. Or perhaps a family chaotic frenzy pulls me out of it. It’s hard for the word of God to spring forth from our souls with joy and thanksgiving. We are weighed down by the cares of this world and tend to take our liberty in Christ for granted. Our lives, at times, resemble a robotic assembly line—rising, performing chores, eating on the go, watching television, then rushing off to bed as if it were one more thing to check off our to-do list. Meanwhile, our eyes are veiled from spiritual reality. God’s presence is felt only on Sunday mornings (providing the preacher yells loud enough to keep us awake), at bedsides of dying loved ones, and when near-death experiences remind us there really is someone UP there.
This man’s conversion in the video reminds me God is alive and active. While fumbling through my fog, God is moving about the earth ensuring his word will not return to him void.
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
As God moves and touches the lives of others, I doubt. Don’t you? Why? Because we’ve lost our spiritual connection. To stay connected, we must be in constant prayer . . . about everything. (I Thessalonians 5:17)
Remember Colton Burpo—the four-year-old who saw heaven and described to his father all that he had seen and heard. Or perhaps you remember young Akiane Kramarik, the four-year-old girl who also saw heaven and returned from her dreamlike state and began to paint. I dare not speculate on Burpo or Kramarik and the circumstances by which they came to encounter heaven and Jesus. I’ll allow the skeptics to handle that debate.
However, this video touched me in ways Colton Burpo’s and Akiane Kramarik’s story could not. Maybe it’s because I’ve been exposed to the word of God for so long that I readily connected it to Saul’s conversion. Or maybe it’s because out of this man’s conversion came a spiritual transformation more miraculous than a painting or a young boy confirming heaven is for real.
Muslim culture is hard for us to grasp. As we drench ourselves in news reports of suicide bombings, we can’t fathom God changing anyone who does such things. Our perceptions are fostered by the stiff-necked who portray themselves as representatives of the Muslim faith. As you and I know, not all Muslims are violent.
To watch this man openly share his encounter with Jesus Christ and profess his faith is no small matter. This is huge! Like Saul of Tarsus, he places himself at risk of being killed. If caught, haters might hang his body in an open marketplace as a warning that Christianity won’t be tolerated. Far worse, he will be prohibited from spreading the word of God to his people.
When you and I think of going on a missionary journey, Gaza, Iran, Libya, Iraq or Syria don’t come to mind. I think Africa—not because I’m African-American, but because that’s what is constantly flashing on my television screen. But through this man’s powerful testimony, I am deeply reminded the most outcast, most dangerous, most vicious, most violent of sinners can and will be brought to Jesus. There are no borders God can’t cross. No cultures he can’t reconcile. No storm he can’t calm. No language he can’t speak. There is no one he can’t forgive. No tool he can’t use. No hate he can’t melt. No confusion he can’t ease. No guilt he can’t erase. No heart he can’t mend. No soul he can’t protect against a fall.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:18-21)
Most of us don’t know a real-live Saul. We can preach Saul’s story, but can we relate to it? Most have never murdered. We’ve never persecuted anyone and placed them in jail. We haven’t sought, and probably would never seek authority to pursue and persecute the church. Saul was all this. He stood tall in the face of what he deemed righteous and boldly flogged the church and anyone else who got in the way.
Yet, God used him.
You can’t fabricate a story like this. It’s no fairy tale. It isn’t a paper doll of a story to be spread out on the floor or atop a table while we muse over how to clothe it. None of us possess that kind of spiritual depth. Throughout biblical history, God used the most unlikely characters to bring forth his word.
• Mary, an unwed teenager; an object of a possible scandal. The risk had it not been God’s will — stoned to death.
• Moses, a tongue-tied Jew removed from his people to live the good life as an Egyptian. An object to be rejected by the very people he was sent to save. The risk had it not been God’s will — killed by Pharaoh.
• Peter, a disciple who swore he’d never leave Jesus, but he did. The risk had it not been God’s will — if Jesus hadn’t appeared and included Peter in the great commission, Peter might have ended up a bitter, angry man.
• Various women throughout the New Testament, many unnamed, who ministered to the apostles. During the time of Jesus, women were considered second-class citizens with almost no status and authority. They couldn’t own property. The risk had it not been God’s will — continued oppression of women.
So, when God moves about the earth and decides to enter the prison cell of an unknown and reveal himself, what am I to make of it? Doubt? Think it’s a disguise for ill-gain? I don’t think so. But I can relate to the doubters. I remember how believers reacted to Saul’s conversion. They were afraid. Apprehensive. Read with me:
“. . . Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, ‘Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:19-21)
“When he came to Jerusalem, he (Saul) tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 9:26-27)
Should we be surprised many will doubt this man’s account? We’re afraid. Smiling, but not trusting. Or should we move our eyes from the messenger to the message? Just as Christ designated Saul to become a disciple to the Gentiles, is he not also proclaiming this man in the video to become a messenger to Muslims? Hamas? Hezbollah? What better tool to carry the word of God into a violent, lost world than one of their own?
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (I Thessalonians 2:13)
God has chosen this man to preach the gospel, appearing to him in as much the same way as he appeared to Saul many years ago. Surprised? If God has reserved a remnant of his people for himself, wouldn’t it stand to reason someone will preach to the Middle East and the people obey? How can they obey unless they hear the message?
“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.’ It is just as Isaiah said previously: ‘Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.’” (Romans 9:27-29)
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
If God has judged this man and deemed him fit to speak throughout the Middle East, who are we to sit in judgment? If God does not send him, who will go? Me? You? Your children? Who?
God’s power and love overwhelms me. I am weak in the midst of his goodness and moved by his compassion to reach those we deem unreachable. He continues to use the most unlikely candidates for his glory.
Whether you believe this man’s story or not, he is likely to be persecuted for the kingdom of God, or for being an imposter. Either way, he will likely die. He will cry out for help. His own people will hate him. Some Americans will hate him; distrust him; keep him under tight scrutiny. He will end up being on the run, perhaps. Maybe he, too, will become shipwrecked, hungry, working menial jobs so he can eat. But whatever form of hardship he endures, he will do so for the sake of Jesus Christ.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.” (Revelation 6:9)
In the end, I hope this man will say:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:7-8)
Can you—
“. . . hide his word in your heart so that you might not sin against him?” (Psalms 119:11 – I’ve paraphrased this verse)
Will you—
“. . . hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)
“For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37)
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Poet, Novelist
August 6, 2014