The words I speak are like that. They will not return to me without producing results. They will accomplish what I want them to. They will do exactly what I sent them to do.
- Isaiah 55:11 (NIRV)
Words with a purpose . . .
It would be rather interesting if everything that we said would produce results.
I say interesting because sometimes we say terrible things, and we would not want those words to come to fruition.
When our parents told us that if we kept making that face it would freeze like that – there is an example of me being glad that our parent’s words did not produce results!
We’d be walking around with our tongues sticking out, our noses wrinkled, our eyes crossed, we would accomplish nothing!!
But God's word will accomplish what He desires and will succeed in its purpose.
God speaks lovingly and truthfully to us, His only desire is that we return to Him, to receive His unconditional love and salvation.
There was a sermon from the Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church back in July 2017 that stuck with me, these are a few of the things that Pennsylvania Pastor said:
Things can become very frustrating for the person who seeks to serve the Lord in this world. A preacher prepares a sermon that less than half of the congregation will hear. A congregational leader tries to recruit new people for Bible study and for serving the congregation through its various offices, only to find out that the people who do get involved are the same ones who always have and always will. A Sunday School teacher carefully prepares her lesson but when Sunday morning arrives her class is empty--everyone is absent. Some of these scenarios may sound familiar to you, or maybe not. But I can assure you that they are commonplace for those who are involved in one way or another with sharing the Word of God. These experiences can be quite discouraging. They can make a person wonder whether he or she should be pursuing other, more profitable endeavors rather than trying to proclaim God's Word to deaf ears.
. . .
When you get right down to it, our assurance that the Word works lies in the promise of God Himself. And if there is one thing that we know about our God, it's that He keeps His promises. His promise in the Isaiah passage before us is that the proclamation and sharing of His Word is never done in vain. It is never worthless or without purpose. Whenever, wherever, and to whomever the Word of God is proclaimed, the will of God is being carried out. What a comfort that promise is to us! What joy and encouragement it gives us when we feel as if our efforts just aren't worth all the bother! Whether we think so or not, God's will is being done in us and through us (and sometimes in spite of us!). We can't go wrong if we share that Word, because sharing that Word accomplishes the will of the God who sent it.
As many of us know all too well, sharing the Word of God is not always an easy task. At times it can be just plain frustrating. But is it worth it? You bet it is! It's worth it because in sharing God's Word we are God's representatives, since the message that we share is His, not ours. It's worth it because there is power in the Word that we share and that power is from the Spirit who works in and through that Word. It's worth it because the Holy Spirit accompanies our sharing of God's Word. It's worth it because there is no other work as important as sharing the Word of God, since that Word communicates the love, grace, and forgiveness that God offers in His Son Jesus Christ to poor lost sinners who need it so desperately. And finally, it's worth it because of the assurance that we receive from God's promise--an assurance and a promise that we can receive nowhere else: the promise that it is God Himself who accomplishes His good and gracious will through the sharing of His Word.
I’m not sure that I can say it any better than that.
Words with a purpose are worth sharing and God’s word has purpose, so let’s share it!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to share your thoughts, but please also be respectful.