I caution that we should not diminish the truth of God’s Word based on our experiences but seek to experience the truths found in God’s Word. This was taken from a two-post series (an unofficial series) that I wrote back in January 2023. I was making a case, if you will, to prove that it’s always God’s will to heal us. If you’re interested in checking out those two posts, they’re Prove Me Wrong and Level Up (Level Up is my response to some questions and insights that came from readers regarding Prove Me Wrong).
As a Christian blogger, I use what I understand of God’s Word to share God’s goodness, grace, and mercy. I see things in my life that open up new awareness of God’s presence and faithfulness, and I write about them based on the truths I read in scripture. Some of them are heartbreaking moments that I could tuck away and hide, but I share them because they testify – they scream out – God’s goodness that has been so evident in my life. There are also some funny moments that I share, often funny at my own expense, but I share them because they testify to God’s relational involvement in our day-to-day lives.
I cannot share God’s Word if I don’t believe it to be true. I cannot stand on God’s Word if even a single line is not truth. But even taking yours truly out of the picture, I want you to think about it this way: everything in existence is held together by God’s Word (Hebrews 1:3). The world is still very much in existence, so it seems pretty logical to deduce that God’s Word is truth. Absolute truth.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. II Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
I have often turned to God’s Word for clarity, comfort, direction, and wisdom, but no matter the reason that I open the Bible, I have found that I don’t have to have my guard up. I don’t have to sniff out whether there’s a lie about to jump off the page. And if you’re not aware, I’m not a very trusting person, so this is huge! It takes a lot for me to let people in… but God’s Word is true and I’m able to rest in that. I’m able to trust what God says about me, to me, and for me.
Some of what I wrote about in my posts from January 2023 had to do with what I experienced differing from what God’s Word stated. I shared the experiences of losing a friend and stepmother to cancer even though we had prayed and believed they would be healed – and God’s Word shows that it’s His will to heal! While I was mainly referring to healing, trusting the validity of God’s Word affects so many other areas. God’s Word being true no matter what we experience can literally be applied in any situation we might face.
We might have some experiences that differ from scripture, but there are no experiences that will ever negate the faultlessness of God’s Word.
My husband and I talk with our kids about a lot of stuff. Every conversation is an opportunity to impart wisdom, knowledge, or they can bring about moments of introspection. But we base everything on God’s Word. We’re purposeful to remind them of what God’s Word says about who they are, how they were created and formed, and the Spirit that is to be operating through them. This helps give them direction; something solid that they can depend on. It’s to become their foundation for how to navigate through life.
While I’m pulling some inspiration from my posts in January 2023, I’m very much seeing the connection to the fruits that the Holy Spirit produces through us – which seems to be sitting on me a lot lately. As I’ve gone through many trials, hardships, and uncertainties, I can look back at them and see God actively involved in bringing me out on the other side safely. Not always unscathed, but safe. I can also see how I conducted myself as I navigated those times and whether or not I leaned on God more or less.
With all of the uncertainty in this world, it’s easy to be afraid. It’s easy to get caught up in the declining morality of America, struggle with questions of transparency (or lack of) in regard to our elected officials, and fret over the world that our children are growing up in. It’s a lot! Then we’re also faced with concerns of a more personal nature – a scary diagnosis, layoffs at work, surprise financial burdens… the list can go on and on.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Psalm 23:4 NLT
One of our pastors recently reminded our church that no matter the valley, no matter the obstacle, and no matter the giant, we’re instructed in scripture to not be afraid. We’re reminded to not be afraid over and over and over again. And did you know that there’s not a single scripture that tells us God sometimes wants us to operate in fear?
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7 NLT
Fear comes to us so naturally – it’s part of our humanity, but fear is not something God has given us. Instead, scripture consistently shows that we are able to rise above fear when we’re grounded in His presence and reminded of His promises, love, and power that are at work in us.
We always have a choice in how we respond to the valleys… the scary unknowns. We can lose sleep, fretting over the problems. We can stress about how we’re going to manage to get through to the other side. We can allow fear to motivate us, but if fear is not from God, what – or should I say who – is actually motivating us? Who is it that’s holding the reins and making the decisions?
I have to admit it: I’ve been in the valleys and the scary unknowns. And I’ve made those seemingly logical decisions. And I’ve mostly come through those valleys unscathed. Except for the missed opportunity to grow my faith in God’s steadfastness. Instead of choosing to go to Him with the problems, I chose to face them without His input. Instead of growing my faith in Him, I merely reinforced the absurd notion that I’m better off without Him.
But even in my stupidity of trying to be self-sustaining in the scary trials that I had to face, God was so merciful. His Word tells us that even in the worst possible moments we face in this world, He can turn the bad into something good… something beautiful (Romans 8:28). It wasn’t the fear that brought the beauty, but His power, love, and mercy.
Acting from a place of fear does not build faith, but by making it a habit to go to God with our fear we will find that our faith becomes stronger and stronger. As we go to God with our fears, with our valleys and uncertainties, we’ll start seeing the fruits that the Spirit produces through us without our striving to see them. One of the fruits that the Spirit produces is peace – and we’ll start to experience a peace that is beyond our understanding because that’s what God gives us – peace, not fear.
The times that I acted out of fear were turned to good because of the mercy of God and not because God wants us to operate in fear. My foundation, your foundation, should be that God’s Word is always true regardless of what our experiences have been. That includes how we respond to and navigate the valleys and scary unknowns. Scripture is clear – fear is not of God.
There is nothing that will ever invalidate the integrity of God’s Word. No experience, no feelings, and no testimony that will ever replace the truth of God’s Word. If it contradicts scripture, it’s not from God. This foundation matters, and nothing can change my mind.
