In a world where we are exposed to more secular influences than ever, even being bombarded with anti-faith messages, it is an increasingly difficult challenge to hold fast to God’s Word. Let’s face it, our flesh has enough trouble just reading the Word if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. As Jesus explained in John 14:26, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things.
Galatians 5:17 tells us the flesh and the Spirit are constantly at odds, so it is our choice which one we follow. Reading the Bible using man’s logic, or a modern day world view, will run us into a brick wall. Proverbs 3:5 admonishes us to trust the Lord, not our own understanding. That’s because the spiritual truth of God’s Word is beyond our natural ability to comprehend.
So how do we cope with the onslaught of society’s dismissal of the Bible?
First, we must acknowledge the Bible is either all true, or it isn’t true at all. If we pick and choose which parts we believe, there will be chaos. Obviously different people will have different ideas about which parts are true. The result is the Swiss Cheese version . . . it’s holey. Now if we believe the Word is in fact true, then we must agree to hold it in authority even when we don’t like it, or when we are totally confused.
It reminds me of a message I heard years ago about trusting the instruments in the cockpit of an airplane. Since there are a couple of private pilots in my family, this really caught my interest. It is not unusual for aviators to be deceived by their flight senses. For example, they might feel like they’re descending when they’re actually ascending. That’s why pilots are trained to always rely on their instruments. Even when there seems to be a discrepancy, trust the instruments. Doing otherwise could have catastrophic results.
Likewise God’s Word.
In addition to the Proverb quoted here, there are many, many other references to trusting the Lord throughout Scripture. That means trusting His Word. Even when our senses (or other external influences) doubt it, trust it like a pilot must trust his flight instruments.
Clearly, to trust in the Bible, we have to read it. Moreover, as we read, we must allow it to speak into our hearts. As noted earlier, spiritual truth is not the same as intellectual truth. Even the Apostles had trouble with that, asking Yeshua for deeper explanation of His sayings on a number of occasions.
In Romans 2:29, the Jewish Apostle Paul wrote about this issue. In part, he made the distinction that the truth was “. . . in the Spirit, not in the letter;” In other words, not an intellectual interpretation.
Furthermore, when we read the Word we need to filter it through Jesus. In Matthew 5:17, He explained the Hebrew Scriptures were indeed of God, but He would fulfill them. This of course is mind boggling, and requires us to apply spiritual understanding. In Isaiah 55:11, God gave us a particularly powerful insight about the application of His Word. “But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Again, this shows our own understanding is not the key.
Nevertheless, the Lord is calling us to believe Him, through His Word, like He called upon the children of Israel when they left Egypt during the Exodus. When they hit the Red Sea with the army of Pharaoh chasing them, they basically thought, “We’re all gonna die!” But the Lord spoke through Moses in Exodus 14:13, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.”
Let’s take God at His Word!