The Word is Our Sword
As Christians, reading and meditating on God’s Word is vital to our spiritual walk. The Bible is our road map to Godly living. It helps us find purpose and direction for our lives. Many people think that the Bible is just old manuscripts that is irrelevant today. They believe it’s about history rather than present time. The truth is, Scripture is still relevant today. Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is in the same yesterday, today and forever.” According to Scripture, Jesus never changes. His power is still the same today as it was 2,000 years ago.
The Bible has 66 books that tells about love, grace, mercy, heartache, and sacrifice. It shows us how to live godly by reading about men and women who followed after God whole-heartedly. The New Testament shows us how to live a godly life through Jesus. The Bible is full of adventures, miracles, and the unexpected.
The Bible is a sacred book that is God-breathed. Second Timothy 3:16 declares that “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” (NIV). The Message version says Scripture “show[s] us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”
Scripture is for everyday life. It is not just something we read and apply to our lives when life is difficult. We read the Bible in the good times and the bad. The Bible continues to build our faith and trust in God so when hardships come, we have the strength and courage to fight on the battlefield — the battlefield of life. We put on our full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and trust God with our circumstances. Ephesians 6:17 says the Word is our sword. The Bible prepares us to face our situations on the front-line. There are many battles in the Bible that God intervened and did the impossible. The battles were won by those we least expected. God does the same for us. God intervenes and does the unexpected. On the battlefield, as long as we allow God to fight our battles with us, we will always have the victory.
On the battlefield, we will need encouragement so we do not grow weary. There are many Books of the Bible that can encourage us and strengthen us in the midst of chaos. The Book of Psalm is full of hope and faith that will keep us strong in the Lord. Psalm is known for being poetic and filled with prayers. The Books of Proverbs and James teaches us how to live godly and walk out our Christian faith. The Old Testament has great godly people to read about and live by such as Abraham, Moses, David, Job, and Joseph. They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things. The Book of Song of Solomon is known for it’s passion describing a love between a husband and his wife. This book beautifully portrays a love so deep that nothing can quench it. If you need to know how much God loves you, I encourage you to read this book. The Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – is the life of Jesus. If you want to know who God is on a deeper level, read the Gospels. Jesus came to earth for one purpose – to spread God’s love with others. His messages to the people are relatable to us today. The parables spoken by Jesus in the New Testament are simplified and easy to understand. The parables spoke about morals and faith in God. These are all great books, and many more not mentioned, that we can apply to our lives.
As we fight through our circumstances, there will be times when we need to rest in God’s presence. There will be chaos and confusion during the battle. On the battlefield, it requires us to get on our knees and pray to God for strength and endurance. Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still in God’s presence. During prayer, God leads us to Scripture that speaks life into our circumstances. Before God can lead us to Scripture, we must know the Word and believe it is truth over our lives. Through prayer and godly living, we apply Scripture to our lives. As we sit quietly in God’s presence to hear His voice, we must let Him guide us through our situations. God will use Scripture to bring us hope and encouragement. God will use the Holy Spirit to place specific Scriptures into our hearts. It reminds us of who God is when we are surrounded my chaos.
Sometimes God gives us a specific word. For example, God may give us the word hope. We can use resources to look up the word to find encouragement. We can use study Bibles, commentaries, promise books, and references to help guide us through the Bible. In this instance, God is giving us many Scriptures to apply to our lives on a specific topic. Each Scripture will build up our strength and courage to continue fighting the battle of life and grow in our faith.
There are many ways God speaks to us through our circumstances. In each situation, God speaks to us differently. The outcomes will never be same. The key for God speaking into our lives is spending time in His presence and in His Word. The more we read the Word, seek understanding, and apply it, the closer we are to God. Our relationship with Christ will grow stronger each time we open the Bible and intentionally read Scripture. We must have purpose and a desire to know God more each and every day to grow in our faith.
The Word is to encourage us when the world tells us we have no hope. The Bible is our GPS to a new life that is filled with renewed faith, daily blessings, and explainable joy. It shows us how to get through a hard time with courage and strength. The Bible reminds us who God is in the darkest nights and promises us that we will see daylight again. 1 John 1:5 declares that “God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in Him” (MSG). John 1:5 says “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (NIV). God has defeated satan, and He is the light that shines through our circumstances to rescue us.
Below is a chart of our emotions and, through God and Scripture, we can conquer anything. Philippians 4:13 states that we “can do all [things] through Him who gives [us] strength” (NIV). As long as we believe God will come through for us, we will continue to stay strong in our faith.
The Scriptures below will encourage you through life circumstances. All these Scriptures declare who God is and who God is in you.
Emotions God Is: Scripture
Heavy Burdened My burden is Light Matthew 11:28-30
Struggle Mercy/God of all Comfort 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Hopelessness Hope Psalm 119:49
Weakness Strength Romans 7:26-28
Helplessness Our Refuge Psalm 91:1-2
Fear Comfort Psalm 23:4
Unloved Steadfast Love Psalm 119:76
Alone Always There Hebrews 13:5-6
Mercilessness Mercy/Compassion Psalm 23:6; Isaiah 49:13
Unworthy Life Psalm 119:50
Sadness Joy John 16:22
Brokenhearted Healer Psalm 147:3
Mourning Comfort Matthew 5:4
Shame/Guilt Grace 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
As you read the Bible, I pray that the words empower you to speak life into your circumstances. When you are on the battlefield fighting satan’s schemes, believe that God’s Word is truth and your sword. God has equipped you to win the battle with Him on your side!