word of god speak

​by Rebecca Vickory
     Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. Romans 10:17
There have been a lot of upheavals in my life lately, leaving no stone unturned. The process
feels exhausting and can feel like the life I knew is being laid waste. The questions come, do I
really know who God is? Is He who I think He is? How can I be sure? Can 10 million atheists
really be wrong? If they say I am foolish, does that make me a fool?

     For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to
us who are being saved. 1 Corinthians 1:18

     I have been following the Lord for 27 years of my life. Is it possible that I was brainwashed?
Did I make a foolhardy choice to spend my life in pursuit of the ways of a fictional character?
I do not think so.
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     When I met this humble carpenter in 1998, my response surprised even me. I had known that
God was trying to get my attention. And then the message of the gospel was spelled out to me.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believed in him would not
die but have eternal life. He showed his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners,
     Christ died for us.
     Jesus died for me.
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My heart stirred within me. If He gave his life to save mine, how could I not follow him? And so
I did. I dedicated my life to him from that moment on. In the earlier days of my faith, I pursued
him with the enthusiasm of a hungry person finally learning what it meant to be fed.
I have endured a great deal of hardship since I met the Lord. But I took His words to heart
when he said, in this world you will have trouble, but fear not, for I have overcome the world. I
have gone through seasons of plenty, and I have gone through seasons of scarcity.

     Like, Paul, I learned the secret to being content: I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.
Today as a seasoned believer, I still try to immerse myself in His Word as often as I am able to
do so. Sometimes, I cannot read it, so I listen to it on audiobook. Hebrews 4:12 says that the
word of God is living and active. What I know to be true is that as I listen to it, as I read it, when
I give it my attention, I feel a stirring in my heart as I listen. I feel my spirit move in me. It is not
just a book. It is the Word of God. There is no other work of literature that has ever moved me
as much, and as readily as the Bible. 
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     If you are not a seasoned Biblical scholar, or if you are simply out of practice at reading or
listening to His word, start in the gospels and work your way from there. The book of John has
always been my favorite, and it still moves me every time I go through it.

     Jesus lived. He walked this earth with people who didn’t always get him. He was a humble
man who didn’t have physical features that drew people to him. In other words, he was not a
great big hunk of a man who had earned status by his good looks and might. I can relate to this
Jesus. And hearing about him from those who spent time with him, (or interviewed those
closest to him) makes my heart delight in him again and again and again.
Word of God speak, would you pour down like rain,
Washing my eyes to see your Majesty To be still and know that you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest in your holiness
     Word of God speak.
-     -Mercy Me
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     Dear heavenly Father, would you speak to us through your Word? Would you move in our
hearts as we read it and make it come alive? Sometimes I am easily distracted and I lose focus
when I spend time in your word, but Lord, you can breathe your life into it, and you can breathe
new life into me. Please remove the obstacles that would keep me from spending time with
you. Let me hunger and thirst for your righteousness, even as I hunger and thirst for your
Word. Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me. Grant that I would know you more and
more, and that I would be able to point others towards your faithful Word as well.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.