by Alex Isip
Are you being tested in life on a day to day basis? Would you claim to be more shaken at times or are you able to cope in most instances or occasions? Christians are not immune to seemingly hopeless experiences or predicaments. The difference may depend on how deeply rooted we are in God’s Word so that as we face challenges in life, we see things in a different perspective--HIS. Once we are rooted in the Word of God, we now rely on His grace for strength, wisdom and endurance. The book of James tells us to “consider it all joy when we are subjected to various trials, knowing the testing of our faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).
Being rooted in the Word means the believer is established firm and fixed in Christ, abounding in faith, renewed in the spirit of one’s mind, strengthened in the inner man, which was created according to God, in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-24). He also meditates in the Law of the Lord (Psalm1:2).
Are you rooted in the Word? Can you honestly say that you are equipped with His Word stored in your memory and in your heart so that you have sufficient weapon to share your faith to the lost and ungodly? Whereas the Psalmist advises for us not even to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor even sit in the seat of the scornful, we have the responsibility to share our faith and demonstrate our being rooted in His Word to them. How can we then share to others our being rooted in the Word without being influenced or contaminated by sin?
The apostle Paul admonishes for us to “stand firm therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith in which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. He also mentioned for us to “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”(Ephesians 6:14-17)
Therefore, possessing all these good attributes and being rooted in the Word of God, we can now confidently go out into the perverse world and proclaim God’s good news of salvation to the lost, boldly and mightily equipped.
By doing so, we will be compared to:
“a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither; and whatever we do, shall prosper” —Psalm 1:3
Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash.