Sure-footed on God’s word
20 Feb 2020
“I need to know if Christianity works, otherwise I just need to get on with my life.” This was the ultimatum I put to God as I headed off to do a six-month discipleship training school.
Growing up in a Christian family and church, I knew the Bible stories and I knew about God. But by my mid-twenties, I had come to the conclusion that Christianity didn’t work for me. Christianity was exhausting: serving in the church, unkeepable rules, and more guilt than I could bear. When I tried to do ‘right’ I would end up so confused. What did God even want from me?
And yet I knew God was real, that Jesus loved me and had died for me. I longed to know how that knowledge could play out in my identity, career, relationships and in my every-day life.
It’s difficult to describe how much God changed me in those six months. It was as if God picked me up, set me down on a clean blank page and said: ‘Ok, let’s start again’. He convinced me He loved me unconditionally, and once I started to believe it, He began to remove all the ‘baggage’ I was carrying, piece by piece. During this liberation from sin, guilt, and shame, some verses in the Bible really resonated with me:
‘As for God, his way is perfect:
(Psalm 18: 30-31)
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?’
They became my go-to verses as I was learning how to hear God’s direction, and to follow his ways. They reminded me that I could trust God and that whatever He said was without fault. There was no longer space for second-guessing everything or trying to justify why it didn’t apply to me. I started to live in simple obedience. Whatever God was speaking to me through my bible reading, my prayer times, my walks with Him, I would just do it. All the while building my faith; that God is good and knows best. Blessings followed: a godly husband, three children, serving in missions in South Asia.
The Lord’s flawless word is right there in the Bible. It is life-changing truth. At Pioneers, we long to introduce people to Jesus, especially those who do not yet even know His name, and that their faith in Him would be founded on God’s living and active word. As I continue to discover, listening to God and obeying what He says is not the easy road, but it is a journey walked in the light, where love flows freely, and grace is poured out in immeasurable portions.
– Suzanne North.
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