To blend the spoken word with faith

Hebrews 4 shows us that the Word we hear must be combined with faith (Heb. 4:2). Faith does not merely mean holding something to be true or grasping it intellectually. A lack of knowledge is not our problem. We know many verses – such as ‘Do not worry’ – and yet we still worry. Hebrews 4 does not say that the people did not understand the Word, but that they did not believe it. Faith is always practical. It gives substance to the Word and makes it our reality. The Word of God should not remain merely a message, but become our experience. Joshua and Caleb brought back the fruits of the good land. For them, the good land was not a theory, but a reality. In the same way, the Lord wants His Word to take shape in our lives. That is why we should not judge the Word merely by whether we have heard something new. Far more important is the question: How can this Word become a reality in my life today? Let us take what we have heard to the Lord and ask Him that His Word may come alive within us and truly help us. Hebrews 4 also speaks of the true Sabbath rest in Christ. This rest is still available to God’s people. Even in all our service, the Lord wishes to lead us into his rest. We are not to serve him with sweat, our own effort or grumbling, but out of his rest. How do we enter into this rest? By mingling the Word with faith. Then we break free from our own works and learn to live out of what Christ is working within us. Where the supply of the Word is lacking, unbelief easily arises – and with it, grumbling. But where everything is done in faith, grumbling gives way, and joy fills the heart. Man was created on the sixth day. His first full day was the Sabbath – a picture of the fact that God’s purpose is not first and foremost our work, but His rest. He created us so that we might enter into his rest and live out of it. May the Lord grant us this week not only to hear his living and active Word, but also to blend it with faith, so that it may become a reality within us and we may enter into his rest.