The Word of Life

What do we look forward to? The expectation of something good encourages us all in our daily lives. It’s something we can hang our hopes on, or even depend upon. There may be times when we need help, or someone to talk to. Perhaps it’s just a visit from a friend, or a word of encouragement from a doctor. We can store up promises in our hearts and hold on to words of comfort. We might receive good news or bad news, and we can either cling to a hope or, in the case of bad news, let it pull us down into the depths of worry or even despair. Words can have a profound impact on our lives.

How about the words of God? His words are true and dependable. His words are life and peace, joy and anticipation. They can carry us through times of difficulty and become a lifeline to rescue us from anxiety and fear.

A friend said to me once, “But they’re only words.” Perhaps, but what do we do with these words? We can dismiss them as irrelevant, as hope without substance in our supposedly real world. Or we can hold them in our hearts as a foundation for strength and anticipation. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). ‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12).

The words of God are life to all who believe. They are not just wise sayings fed into our fragile human understanding, but words of power from the One who gave us life. ‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18). Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: ‘We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last for ever.’

Let’s not weary ourselves with false hopes and impossible dreams. Let us not burden ourselves with groundless fears and pointless doubts. For these are merely a vapour which disappears like a mist on a summer morning. We need to put our faith and belief in the truth, which will set us free from the uncertainties of life and build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ himself. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ (John 10:10).

As we hold firmly to the Word of Life, we will know the security and certainty of walking in the power of the One who lives within us. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is rooted and grounded in the living Word. It has neither beginning nor end. But we can take hold of it now and live in it to the full.