As I wrote yesterday’s blog I was impressed again with the fact that when God speaks things happen. In the very first book of the Bible at the start of our world, as we know it, the phrase ‘And God said’ occurs eight times, Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26), and when – ‘He said’- amazing things happened.
Jesus Himself is called ‘the Word’, and God has also spoken and revealed Himself through Jesus because ‘The Son is the radiance of the Father’s glory, and the exact representation of His being’, furthermore He ‘sustains all things by His powerful word’. Hebrews 1:3. So God’s words created everything that we see all around us, and His Word now sustains it all.
We also read in the Gospels of the amazing things that happened when Jesus spoke to people while He was on earth. Jesus, sending a report to John the Baptist, says in His own words that ‘The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and good news is preached to the poor’. Miracles and healings happen when He speaks. Even the Roman centurion realised that all Jesus had to do was ‘say the word’ and his servant would be healed. Matthew 8:8.
This is why when we hear God’s word spoken into our lives we can expect things to happen. We can expect change to come as we actively ‘hear’ and believe, or ‘agree’ with His words. As we take hold of God’s words we should feel a sense of excitement and anticipation because ‘the word of God is living and active.’ Hebrews 4:12. Since God only speaks ‘truth’, we need to give thanks to Him for every word that He speaks, because God’s word can be an instrument of change in our lives, making us more like Christ, and so more able to represent Him to our world.
God’s written Word refines us as we read it, hear it, and chew it over, (meditate on it). It is ‘Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’ Hebrews 4:12. This is why embracing God’s Word is a big part of personal revival. If we will let it, it will help us to sort out our motivations and those deep seated attitudes that can be harmful to us and to others.
Psalm 119:9-11, reminds us that God’s word can help us to avoid sin, ‘I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you’. It can also bring correction to our lives and direction. Psalm 119:105 says ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path’ and later in verse 129, the psalmist says, ‘Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.’
Let us today gratefully thank the Lord for His written word, and for the truths that He has provided for us to feed on. And as we thankfully welcome those words into our lives, the Holy Spirit will take those words and renew our minds. We will be transformed by the power of the word and the Spirit working in us, Romans 12:2; because as He said ‘My word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it’. Isaiah 55:11.
I am so thankful that we have a speaking God, who declares who He is, what He loves, and how He wants us to live. He has spoken through creation, through His word and through Jesus. He has not left us to guess who He is or what He is like. So let us receive with gladness everything that He reveals to us about Himself so that we might ‘know’ and love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
