Faith in the Spoken Word

By Carin LeRoy –

My little grandson will never let my husband or me get away with not keeping our word. When my husband mentioned he would make a swing in our backyard, he came in weeks later and said, “Papa, when are you going to make that swing? You said you were going to build us one.” My husband got busy and kept his word. Or to me he’ll say, “Nana, you told me I could have a Popsicle after you taught your piano lessons.” His expectation was that we would keep our word. As grandparents, we want to show our little guy that we can be trusted.

In John 4, we read the story of the official’s son who was sick and near death. When the father heard that Jesus was nearby, he went to Jesus and begged him to come heal his boy.

“Sir,” he said, “Come down before my child dies.”

Jesus said, “Go home. Your son will live.”

The man believed the words Jesus spoke and left for home. While he was still on the road, his servants came running to meet him and tell him that his son was alive. The father realized he was healed at the exact time that Jesus had spoken the word and told him his son would live.

As we look at Scripture we see great men and women of faith. Noah built the ark because God spoke. Even though he didn’t understand, he obeyed. The Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days and conquered it. God spoke, and they had faith to do as He said. Mary, mother of Jesus, didn’t comprehend how a virgin could conceive, but trusted that what God said was true. All of these incidents needed a listening heart and willingness to obey even when it made no sense to them. Circumstances that seemed impossible, took faith that God would do exactly as He had spoken. And He did.

Do we believe when God speaks? We have a Bible full of Scriptures where God speaks to us. We have promises to believe, commands to obey, admonishments to follow and warnings to adhere. We can become great people of faith, too, as we take God at His word. What is God speaking to you today?

PRAYER: Lord, give me the faith to believe that what You speak is true, and that You will fulfill all the promises that You have given in Your word.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1: 3 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Carin LeRoy, wife to Dale and mother of three grown children and one almost-grown teenager. She has been a missionary with Pioneers since 1982. Her passions are family, missions, piano, and writing to challenge others to live faithful lives for God.