“See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 1:21
Christians agree that God’s Word is important. Yet, many believers fall short of the abundant life promised in Scripture because they fail to fully trust what the God of Scripture says. Uncompromising Christianity doesn’t merely think that Scripture is important—it knows that God’s Word is imperative to our lives. Do you fully trust the Bible? Nothing proves where our trust truly lies quite like times of challenge and adversity.
In Deuteronomy 1, Moses recounts how the nation of Israel sent spies into the promised land with every intention of obeying the Lord. The spies confirmed that everything God said was true—the land was plentiful and prosperous. Still, they struggled with other realities of the report. The people in the land were bigger and lived in well-fortified cities. This news made their “hearts melt.” Suddenly, they doubted the Lord’s promise. Israel turned away from assured victory because they no longer trusted what God said (vv22-32).
Some of us are no different today. Anytime we struggle with complete obedience to the Lord, it’s a sign that we don’t truly believe what He says in His Word. We can say the Bible is important, but our actions reveal whether or not it’s imperative (James 1:22).
Think about how this might be true in your own life. Has some situation caused your heart to melt? Remember, God’s power is not limited by our circumstances. How we respond to God’s Word during adversity reveals the object of our faith. When our confidence is in God and in His Word, we move forward in obedience. We fully trust Him with the outcome.
So, is God’s Word important to you, or is it imperative? Another route may look more comfortable than following God’s plan. But compromising—by trusting in anything or anyone else—is the path to defeat and spiritual mediocrity. The victorious Christian life is not without difficulty. It’s a life of overcoming adversity by trusting in Jesus Christ and in the promises of Scripture. When God’s Word is the absolute and final authority in our lives, then we can rest in the security of God’s promises.