“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” – James 1:22 (NLT)
Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone nodded in agreement and expressed their enthusiasm, but later nothing really changed? Most of us are probably familiar with this frustration. And afterward we’re left thinking, “Wasn’t this the whole point of having the meeting? It was just a huge waste of time!” The words were heard, but no action followed.
James cautions us to make sure our faith isn’t like that – just words with no real-life impact. It’s easy to nod along with a sermon, or even reading a devotional like this one, feeling inspired in the moment. I’m reminded of the numerous resolutions I used to make on January 1st. “This is going to be the year! I just signed up to receive Men’s Fitness magazine each month and also got myself a nice, fancy treadmill!” Six months later there’s a stack of magazines that haven’t been read and there’s two inches of dust on the treadmill. It turns out that there’s a lot of space in between in the moment and living it out daily.
For some of us, it almost seems like the more we learn about God’s Word, the easier it becomes for us to simply sit back and think about it without really acting on it. James describes this kind of faith rather bluntly: it’s self-deception. It’s meaningless.
This is not the type of faith Jesus has called us to. No, we are to be enthusiastic about both reading and applying God’s Word in our daily living. Why? Because it fills us with life and purpose! It transforms us. We see things differently and our attitudes change. When we face challenges, we can see them more clearly and respond to them in a Godly way. And when others see us handling our trials in the midst of a real peace and assurance, they become curious to know why we’re so different, giving us a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel.
And that, my friends, doesn’t happen just by hearing or reading God’s Word alone. It also involves applying the Word to our lives daily.
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” – John 13:17
Former Blackout Artist 