“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” – James 1:22
Have you ever noticed how God’s word REALLY is applicable in daily living?
I mean, come on, we always “say” that we’re supposed to do what God says do in our daily lives. That’s just “church talk”, right?
WRONG!
God’s Word isn’t “church talk”. It’s not just some banter that we throw around like word from a newspaper. His instructions aren’t just something we say to impress other believers or to put on the right appearance in our Sunday best.
God’s Word – His instructions to us – are to be used in our everyday lives.
Never was this more obvious to me than yesterday. If you’ll recall, my last devotional was that of “Somebody’s Always Watching.” Remember? The point of the devotional was how we were to be representative of Christ and to act like Christ . Even when we think no one is looking.
I mentioned how a man who had all the Christian ID (fish logo, “Gospel” license plates, etc.) had been very abusive and ugly to his wife when she locked the keys inside their car in front of our hotel.
Little did I know that the VERY NEXT MORNING God would give me an opportunity to apply His message.
We woke up and prepared to go to Silver Dollar City. We had promised to take Jacob to the theme park to see a special Veggie Tales presentation. So, off we went.
Parking was crazy. The place was packed and they parked us waaaaaay down a steep hill just about as far away as you can imagine.
As we parked, I asked my wife to get my blood pressure medicine for me to take. She said okay. We packed Jacob’s stroller, got our stuff together and headed for the trolley.
Only there were gazillions of people lined up to take the trolley. So, we decided to walk. Yes, UP that steep hill out in the middle of nowhere, about 500 miles away from the theme park. :o)
About 2/3 of the trek up this Mt. Everest of a hill, in the blazing morning heat, I could feel my blood pressure starting to rise, which reminded me that I needed to take my medicine. I asked my wife “You do have my blood pressure medicine, don’t you?”
Oooops.
She had left it back down Mt. Everest in the SUV.
Two choices awaited me. I could risk having a stroke by not taking the medicine, or I could walk back down that hill, in the blazing sun, making us late for the Veggie Tales show, to get the medicine.
I started walking.
Paula and Jacob waiting 2/3 of the way up the hill, under a nice shady overpass.
As I walked down that hill, two more choices awaited me. I could be irritated and express my dissatisfaction, or I could be calm and admit that I too forget things.
I chose to be calm.
And I chose to be calm for one reason and one reason only. God reminded me – all the way down that hill and all the way back up that hill – of the devotional He had allowed me to write the day before. He reminded me of His instructions, or what His Word said. He reminded me of how I was supposed to act as a child of His, as someone who has the Holy Spirit living inside of them.
Like I said, God’s Word is real. It’s alive. And it’s to be applied in our daily lives.
So, I got the medicine, climbed back up the hill, loved on my wife and little boy and proceeded to have a wonderful time at Silver Dollar City.
What a difference APPLYING God’s Word makes. No arguments. No hurt feelings. No ruined vacation. No bad moods. No damaged testimony.
That’s why God gives us His instructions. To take a lot of the self-created pain and difficulties out of our lives. He loves us and wants to protect us and bless us with abundant lives.
We just need to do what He says do. And let Him take care of the rest.
Christian, I share this today to make a simple statement: I encourage you to seek out God’s instruction. Study His Word. Get involved in a Bible study. Read these daily devotionals each day. Listen to the Holy Spirit.
And apply what God tells you to do.
You’ll be amazed at how much peace and joy and happiness it brings you.
Even when you have to walk down and up a huge hill, in the middle of the blazing heat, late for what you wanted to do.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” – James 1:22
Have a “Wonderful DAY in Christ,” Jimmy D. Brown dailydevotional@Living4Jesus.com