WORKING the WORDSample

INGEST IT

John 15:4&7 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me… But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”

To work the Word of God, the first of four choices you need to make is Ingest It. The Word of God cannot be at work in you if the Word of God is not in you. Imagine someone has a cough and has purchased the most effective cough syrup in the market. He takes it to work, school, puts it under his pillow, but never ingests the syrup. What do you think will happen? The cough will persist because the syrup is not useful under the pillow. A lot of people put their Bibles under their pillow, but they do not read it. The syrup is not useful in your car, people put their Bibles in their cars, yet they do not read it. The syrup is not useful on your desk, people put their Bible on their desk, but they do not read it. The syrup is only useful in you. It is when you take the syrup that the syrup can begin to work in you. The Word of God cannot be at work in you if the Word of God is not in you. Ingesting the Word is non-negotiable. James 1:21 “…receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” (KJV) Receiving with meekness speaks to the state of your heart. Therefore, you must humble yourself by emptying yourself of your own ideas or worldviews you may have embraced. You have to receive with meekness the engrafted Word.

Getting to know the truth is the key. What is the best way to approach the Word? Slow down. Do not rush! Never race through scriptures. When you read, ensure that you understand what you have read. Use whatever time you have to engage with the Word but take your time while you are at it. If it is one hour you have to read the Word of God, take your time, slow down, do not rush. If it is five minutes you have for Bible study, fantastic, take your time in those five minutes, slow down and read the Word of God. The Word needs to be in you. There is no shortcut, you have to ingest it daily. John 8:31-32 “…If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (ESV). In fact, like physical maturity, the sign of spiritual maturity and growth is the ability to feed yourself. To be a disciple of Jesus, you have to be a person of the Word. To get the Word to work, you must choose to ingest the Word of God. You need to get to the place where you are able to go and feed yourself spiritually. Sit down with the Word and ingest the Word.

Prayer: Father, in the Name of Jesus, help me consistently anchor my life on Your Word. Help me remain in Your Word so Your Word will remain in me. Amen!