During church today God put on my heart two topics that are vital to knowing and understanding Him better. The first - and the topic of church today - is the truth and validity of the Bible as His Word. The second is the reality of hell. He challenged me to take the initiative to study these two areas much more fully than I have until now, so I know already that there is much more for me to learn. But I want to start with where I am now and with what I know so far.
In the past two years I've gone through a lot regarding my walk with God. I've come a long way from where I was, but I still have a ways to go. Part of my growing up process has been to go through struggles and even some significant doubts. But I made the choice through those difficult times to give God the benefit of the doubt and see if He would prove Himself to me. Each time, without fail, He ultimately walked me through it, gave me the answers, showed me what I was looking for. And He waited patiently for me to work my way through it, reminding me and encouraging me to lean on Him in the process.
Well, one of those trying times was my struggle to actually accept that the Bible is what it claims to be. I'm sure you've heard the arguments before that go against the claim that the Bible is God's inspired word... it's full of contradictions, it doesn't agree with science, it was written by men, it's stories are far-fetched, and on and on. While I never pointed to one of these arguments as being a barrier for me as far as believing wholly in the Bible, there was always just an underlying hint of a doubt that kept me a little reserved in fully trusting it.
I remember praying about it - I was begging for some reason to REALLY buy into it. I wanted to believe, but just couldn't convince myself by myself. And really, if the Bible is the foundation of Christianity, and I struggle to believe in the Bible, then how can I really commit to live for Christ? Well, this struggle had been going on inside me for some time, but I stuck with my studying and my prayer time, waiting to see if God would show up with something convincing beyond question. And I must say, He did, and He did it in a way I was totally NOT expecting.
I was lying in bed one night thinking over some things that were going on in my life at the time. Now, I can't even remember what those things were specifically, but I remember being distracted by my own life and circumstances. I was rolling things over and over in my head, working and rearranging and trying to come up with solutions. Then, all of a sudden, my thoughts were interrupted mid-stream and God said very plainly to me, "I've said that I've put My word even above My own name. If you believe in Me, then you must believe My Word. Otherwise, You do not believe in Me at all." End of interruption. WOW. I got chills. And I laid there thinking about what He had just said. That was pretty big. The next day I woke up thinking about it, and all through the day, I thought about it. And as it started working its way down into my spirit, like only the Word of God can, I began to realize that I must choose whether or not I believe in the Bible, just as I choose whether or not I believe in God. But any unwillingness to believe would not change the truth of what it is. God is still God, even if I don't believe in Him. And, likewise, the Bible is still the Word of God, whether I choose to believe it or not.
As I continued studying, and reading books related to this fundamental element of Christianity, I began to see that even those arguments that many make against the Bible hold no weight. It does not contradict itself. It is not contrary to solid science, and it's 'stories' are historically documented by sources outside of the religious community. I began to see that the Bible is an amazing and almost unthought-of piece of literature. Think of it - it was written by around 40 different authors, over a course of 1500-ish years, yet the consistency of facts, characteristics, ideas, and teachings are astounding. It is full of prophecies that have been fulfilled hundreds of years after their telling. It is full of facts and circumstanced that have been supported and solidified by scientific research hundreds, or thousands of years later. Even today our pastor told of 2 circumstances where current-day men found undiscovered oil reserves based on facts and details documented in the ancient Old Testament. Want more consistencies with science?Long before the time of Christopher Columbus, when people believed the earth was flat, Isaiah told of the 'circle' of the earth (Isaiah 40:22). Long before we had a scientific understanding of the emptiness of space, Job wrote of a God who 'hangs the earth upon or over nothing' (Job 26:7) Amazing.
As I began to see the bigger picture of the Bible, it became harder and harder for me to doubt its validity and truth. Yes, there are things in it that I do not understand, but that does not make it invalid. That makes me short on understanding and wisdom. This, for me, was the start of a more grounded walk with God. When I finally made the decision to lean my trust completely on the Bible as the true Word of God, it opened up for me a whole new aspect of faith. This decision has been, for me, a catalyst into a stronger, closer relationship with Jesus, and a trust in Him that I've never known before.
For I am the Lord; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed (come to pass); it shall be no more delayed or prolonged, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and will perform it, says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 12:25)
I the Lord have spoken it; it shall come to pass and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I relent... (Ezekiel 24:14)
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