A Word from God Is All that Matters
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 4:35 (NKJV) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
The above Scripture is from the passage where Jesus was still asleep in the boat when the waves were filling up the boat and they were about to sink. Jesus was calm because He had already given them a Word “Let us cross over to the other side.” The lesson to learn is to take Jesus’ Word for it even when the circumstances may look contrary to what has been promised. It is a test of how much we know God as well as His character.
When we walk by faith, there is always a fight between what we have heard from God and the contrary circumstances while we wait for the promise to come to pass, and what will help us to hold onto our faith is the Word that has been spoken to us personally. That is why in all major decisions, we need to make sure we are in the will of God by having a Word from God. He must be part of the decision process.
Matthew 14:28-29 (NKJV) And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
The only prayer where we utter the word “if” is the prayer of consecration because we do not know whether it is God’s will. This is the prayer that we can pray daily until we hear from the Lord whether it is a “yes”, “no”, or “wait”. Peter likewise sought Jesus to give him a Word before he attempted to walk on water.
The most common mistake or shortcut by men to know the will of God is to send out a fleece to God as Gideon did (Judges 6:36-40) because they lack patience. This started the practice of asking God to open and close the door, but there is no safeguard in this way of praying because the devil who is the god of this age can manipulate circumstances to deceive us.
Gideon did not have the full counsel of the Word and the Holy Spirit living in him in the Old Testament. However, we have the full counsel of the Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit living in us in the New Testament church. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. As many as are led by the Spirit of God these are the sons of God. God will speak to us in clarity through His Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit but we must keep ourselves sensitive or sharp in the leading of the Holy Spirit by yielding to Him in all matters.
Sermon Series: Walking on Water
