Day 5: The Word In Me

Today’s Scriptures:

Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

I have a friend who is truly a kindred spirit.  Her name is Sis. Faith and, true to her name, she is wall-to-wall faith in God.  A petite little powder keg for Jesus, Sister Faith led our ladies prayer group and taught us about the Word.  Being from the country of Guyana, she would say to me in her cute little accent, “The Word WORKS, Sistah Lah-ra, but you gotta WORK the Word!”

The Word was strong in Sis. Faith and the Spirit of the Lord activated it to yield amazing results.  Once she told me the story of her brother who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.  Since she lived out of state, it took her awhile to get to the hospital and by the time she got there the spirit of death was overshadowing the room and everyone was grieving.  Sister Faith shooed everyone out and closed the door.  All the Word that she had stashed away in her heart came flowing out, and as she spoke the Word of God over her brother, he received a miracle of complete healing.

The Word in me and you is our response to life.  When life happens, whatever is in our heart comes pouring out.  If the Word has been firmly planted, it comes rising up as a mighty weapon, combating lies with truth.  The Word in us is our defense.

The Word Fitly Spoken

Everything you see on earth was created by the spoken Word (Genesis 1, Hebrews 11:3).  Today, all things are held together by the word of God (Hebrews 1:3).  But listen!  God did not keep this creative power for Himself – He made us in His image, and gave us authority to change things with our words.  Indeed, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).

The Word in you must come out of you to bring change.  Words can change your future.

One day, as Jesus walked with his disciples, he saw a fig tree that was barren.  Jesus told the fig tree to die.  Right before their eyes nothing happened.  They walked on to Jerusalem.  The next morning when they passed the fig tree it was “withered away to its roots.”  The curse Jesus had spoken upon it did not manifest immediately.  Like a bouquet of flowers that still look alive for a time, the fig tree looked alive.  But death began the moment Jesus spoke the words.

Jesus used this moment to teach:  “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”  (emphasis added, Mark 11:12-14, 20-24).  Undoubtedly, we have the power to curse or bless with our lips.

The Word Responds

Is it just me or does it seem like the whole world is offended?  In our selfie society, we no longer have healthy, let alone Godly, responses to life’s challenges.

All Christians have a Mentor who showed us the proper responses to every temptation.  His template:  “It is written!” The Word in me responds to:

• Offense – “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165)
• Attack – “So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6) “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
• Anxiety – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
• Concerns – “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (Psalm 138:8).
• Sickness – “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17).
• Grief – “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4-5).

It’s another law of nature: what goes in will eventually come out, especially when provoked.  “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  (Did you get that?  Your heart is a treasury!)

Work The Word

We delight in the promise of this oft quoted scripture, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).  But allow our understanding to go a little farther – it’s what you do with the truth that will make you free.

“But be doers of the word,” James tells us, “and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).  He goes on to say that if we are not forgetful hearers but a doer of the work, we will be blessed in whatever we do.  Yes, you heard him correctly – it is work.  Sis. Faith was right – we must WORK THE WORD!

In this series, I shared the story of my daughter’s healing.  What I didn’t share was the fact that her miracle was in two parts.  First, God did the supernatural and healed the issue.  Later, in prayer, He told Brooke she was to partner with Him to restore what the illness had destroyed.  She needed to “work the Word” and obey His pathway to health.  For many months, Brooke and I sat together every night and spoke healing scriptures out loud.  This blessed her body and built our faith.  God told her what she should eat, and what she shouldn’t.  Today we are reaping the “fruit of our lips” and her obedience to His voice.

It’s time to speak, to act on the Word in you.  What can you take away from this series, “The Powerful Word,” that will change your life?  The Word is a Person Who Brings Truth, Faith, and Life to your world. Speak these blessings over your life and others today and see what God will do!

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).