I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus’ statement in Matthew 4:4... ‘It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.' What does that mean in everyday practical living as a follower of Christ?
Most of us haven’t a clue. For starters it means to filter everything you think and do. Every contemplation, every decision, every choice is filtered through the counsel and instruction found in the Word of God. Are you constantly questioning your actions to see if they are indeed instructed by His every word?
Maybe it’s time to seriously ask yourself, ‘what does it mean to live by His every word’? If I know the answer to that question, then it’ll be easier to ensure that you are living by His Word.
Complete Trust. If you have ever driven in unfamiliar territory, with little more than a map, without knowledge of local landmarks, then you know what it’s like to try and navigate in a direction towards a destination, depending only on the road and a few sign markers along the way. You need some form of guidance and assurance that you are heading in the right direction.
Living by God’s every word is exactly like that, as God will often lead us in paths we haven’t traveled before. There will often be no ‘landmarks’ or familiar ‘landscapes’ to go by, only God’s voice – His Word. Complete trust and courage in God’s direction given through His Word is required to stay on course. Joshua charged the Israelite to keep their eyes open for God’s direction as He was leading them in a path they had never been before (Joshua 3:4). To live by God’s every word is to trust His Word to take you to your destination even when the path is extremely unfamiliar and sometimes seem treacherous.
Obey Every Instruction. Too many times we fail to listen for God’s Word in our daily living. Sometimes the distractions we allow to invade our lives hinder our ability to focus intently on God’s instructions. Everything in our lives that is not of God’s voice is potentially a distraction and likely threatening and harmful. These distractions can be like a loud noise that drowns our what we need to hear. The noise can be the opinions of our friends, spouses or fellow worshippers; it can be the news about the economy, our bosses’ voice, the voice of the doctor, or the flattering voices of people unable to tell us the truth when we step out of line with God’s will.
Sometimes we need to shut down the source of the noise around us or come away from the noise to a place where we can hear God’s voice, expressed through His Word. And having heard [by reading and meditation] His voice we must ensure that we obey and obey fully. Partial obedience to God’s Word is as good as not obeying at all or not even listening.
Obey Every Instruction. Too many times we fail to listen for God’s Word in our daily living. Sometimes the distractions we allow to invade our lives hinder our ability to focus intently on God’s instructions. Everything in our lives that is not of God’s voice is potentially a distraction and likely threatening and harmful. These distractions can be like a loud noise that drowns our what we need to hear. The noise can be the opinions of our friends, spouses or fellow worshippers; it can be the news about the economy, our bosses’ voice, the voice of the doctor, or the flattering voices of people unable to tell us the truth when we step out of line with God’s will.
Sometimes we need to shut down the source of the noise around us or come away from the noise to a place where we can hear God’s voice, expressed through His Word. And having heard [by reading and meditation] His voice we must ensure that we obey and obey fully. Partial obedience to God’s Word is as good as not obeying at all or not even listening.
Think of it like this... if a car driver is using a satellite navigation system and fails to listen to all the instructions or filters out those where “he thinks he knows better” its likely he will not arrive at his expected destination. To live by God’s every word means to listen for His voice and then to obey the instructions He gives fully, without personal filtering. Jesus said ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’ John 10:27.
Employ Patience. This is quite important, the quality of patience in our relationship with God. As each of us grow in Christ, and matures, God’s instructions will impact us differently at different times in our lives. It is important to remember... when it is time to change course or when you come to a crossroad, it is always after full obedience to His last instruction. Stay on course until your growth and maturity helps to reveal and change your direction. The fact that He is silent in between commands is not an indication that He has changed His mind or that He had forgotten about you. A lot of times we take God’s silence as license to take matters into our own hands and move off the path we’re on. Such self-directed turns will often yield disastrous consequences.
Sarah misinterpreted God’s silence between Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 [several years] to mean abandonment and therefore encouraged Abraham to ‘help’ God fulfill His promise of giving him a child by having relations with Hagar. But this was far from the truth. Living by God’s Word requires patience and courage to continue in His instructions no matter how long that may be. Jesus said ‘…If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed’ John 8:31. Paul helps us further by saying ‘For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise’ Hebrews 10:36. Employ some patience as you live by His every word.
HEAR What He Says... Not What He Said. This point is quite crucial and important as many of us fail to successfully engage with God’s will and purpose for our lives, as we are living life based on what He ‘said’ and not what He is ‘saying’ now.
Consider for a minute Abraham’s example from the Bible. If when he was instructed to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22:2 he had failed to listen continuously for God’s voice and instructions presently, he would have killed his son and not have heard God’s voice instructing him to spare his son’s life in Genesis 22:12 and thus aborting God’s plan and will for his life. Living by God’s every word means to continually live by what “He is saying” not what He had said.
God’s Word is constantly relevant, never out-of-date as some would suggest. What He said thousands of years ago, in the Old Testament, may seem irrelevant today, but it is not. It meets, exceeds and conquers every social and cultural challenge to its validity as the premier source for useful counsel. 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. Hebrews 4:12-13
This is especially true in our contemporary times, where many want to believe that God has in some ways changed and adapted to cultural and social pressures. What he said 2,000 or 3,000 years ago as revealed in His Word is just as applicable today as then. His revealed nature and character in the Old testament has not changed... He is the same today as He was then. God does not change, so we must hear Him through His Word today in the same way the ancients heard Him. His Word is up-to-date, relevant and useful in all things we encounter in today’s world. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
How have you been living your life? Are you living by His every word or are you just going through life totally oblivious to or ignorant of His Word and His voice?
Or perhaps you listened but have taken a wrong turn and are somewhat lost or you failed to listen clearly and precisely to ALL of His instruction. It is not too late to amend your course. Just like a satellite navigation system recalculates your route and redirects you back to the right path when you make a wrong turn, so God by His word and the Holy Spirit is waiting to maneuver you back to the right path in the midst of His will.
Why don’t you spend time in prayer and ask Him to help you to hear and obey His every word. Determine today, to start living by every word that proceeds from His mouth.
