Leaning In To God’s Word

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

Note: This blog was originally written for the ClearView Women’s Ministry. If you’re in the Nashville area and looking for a church home, please check out ClearView!

On January 1, 2020, I decided to read through a chronological Bible in one year. Like everyone else, I had no idea how this year would turn out, but I am incredibly grateful that God laid it on my heart to be in His Word every single day.

Lately the reading plan has taken me to the book of Jeremiah, who was a prophet with a difficult ministry, to say the least. God gave Jeremiah messages to proclaim to people who were much more interested in idols and pleasure than in hearing His truth.

At the same time, the land was filled with false prophets who claimed to speak for God, but who directly contradicted what Jeremiah had to say.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord’” (Jeremiah 23:16).

Essentially, these prophets were making up their own truth and giving the people what they wanted to hear. But their promises were empty.

I can’t help but notice the similarities between Jeremiah’s time and our world today. How many people promise peace, happiness and self-fulfillment, if you only follow along according to their rules? Others stress that the key to life is discovering your own personal truth.

This kind of teaching may “tickle ears” (2 Timothy 4:3), but in the end, it leads to emptiness and ruin. God is our source of truth. Today, instead of speaking through prophets as in the Old Testament, God speaks through His Word, the Bible.

Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash

And here’s the best news––obeying God will lead to more life, joy and fulfillment than we could ever find on our own pursuits! He is our Creator, and we can trust that His Word and His decrees are designed for our good. (Check out Psalm 119 if you want to read more about the joy of following God’s Word.)

I know how easy it is to be quickly swayed by the thoughts and opinions of others. God has kindly reminded me that it is imperative for me to be grounded in Him, with His Word as my foundation.

As you walk through this noisy, confusing world, I pray that you will lean in to God’s Word as your source of truth. His Word will never fail; it leads to life.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).