Focus: Settled Word

Text: Ps.119:89

"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."

In heaven God's word is a settled thing. It is the system of operation in heaven. Everything in heaven is governed by the Word. The Word of God is the primal and final authority in heaven. Every word issued from God's throne is law. One centurion said to the Lord Jesus Christ, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed… I am a man under authority, having soldiers under: and I SAY to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it" (Mt.8:8,9). Here's a man of authority, who understands the power of words, and who uses words to inspire action and achieve results.

In heaven no one acts contrary to the word of God. It is a settled matter. O, the permanence, gravity, primacy and supremacy of the word of God! No contrary voices in heaven; only the voice of God is heard and adhered to.

But here's my concern: God's word is settled in heaven, but how does it get settled in our own lives here on earth? How do we get to the place in our lives where God's word becomes a settled and final thing? The psalmist says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path." It is not enough for the word to be settled in heaven; I want it to be settled in my own life and in my personal world. And I know you do, too! We lead a settled life by the settled word.

*Believing the word

The word becomes a settled thing in our lives through faith. Our constant response to the word should be, 'Lord, I believe!' In Heb.4:2, we read concerning the children of Israel, that "the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." It is with the cement of faith that we concretize the word of God in our lives.

*Meditating the word

The psalmist says, "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day… I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation" (Ps.119:97,99). I will keep saying it, that meditation is a powerful medication for the soul. Psalm 1:2 says, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." This is nothing short of chewing and masticating the word of God for spiritual enrichment.

*Praying the word

David prayed, "And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said" (2Sam.7:25). This is prayerfully taking God's word back to Him and asking Him to act accordingly and promptly too.

*Confessing the word

God says to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do…" (Josh.1:8).

Let the word be in your mouth as well as in your heart. Speak the word. Keep confessing it. Paul says, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Rom.10:8).

*Doing the word

James says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (Jam.1:22). Nothing can take the place of doing or obeying the word of God. Obedience to the word of God is fundamental to a holy and healthy spiritual life.

*Living by the word

The Lord Jesus says, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread along, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mt.4:4). The word is our life. We live by it. "The words that I speak unto you," says the Lord, "they are spirit, and they are life" (Jh.6:63).

We'll begin to see the wondrous effects of the word of God in our lives as we let it settle in us. Inner peace is the effect of a personal world that is framed with the word of God. The radical effects of a settled word are enormous. O, Lord, let Your word be settled in our lives! Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter