How To Live By The Word
By Dr Taiwo Adeeko
“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith”.
Habakkuk 2:4.
The life of faith is the lifestyle of the believer. Living by faith is not optional for a believer. Every believer who desires to live a victorious life in Christ must live by faith, because it is one’s faith that makes one an overcomer.
“ For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”. 1 John 5:4.
From the above scripture, it is evident that living by faith is synonymous to victorious living.
Every believer wants to have a victorious life. A number of believers claim to have attempted living by faith, and it did not work.
However, many believers do not understand what it means to live by faith and how to live by faith. The Bible enjoins the believer to live by his own faith as the following scriptures show:
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it’s written, the just shall live by faith”. (Romans 1:7)
“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; For the just shall live by faith”. (Galatians 3:11).
“Now the just shall live by faith but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Hebrews “. (10:38.)
But what does it really mean to live by faith? How can a believer live his everyday life by faith?
These questions can be answered by looking at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter four:
“Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. (Matthew 4:1-4.)
If we juxtapose Habakkuk 2:4 with Matthew 4:4, we will begin to get a clearer picture of what it means to live by faith. From the above passages, one can safely conclude that to live by faith is to live by the word of God! Living by faith is letting the word of God determine our belief systems, our actions and lifestyles.
If faith comes by the word of God according to Romans 10:17, it therefore follows that you cannot separate faith from God’s word.
Faith is a product of God’s word. The more of the word of God we have in our hearts, the stronger our faith will be.
Let’s see some practical steps to living by faith:
1. Let the word be a priority in your life. Do not just read the Bible when it is convenient, but build your life around the Word of God. It is important that every Christian makes out time for the study of God’s Word. And just as important, we should give it first place in their lives. Proverbs 4:20 22 puts it succinctly:
“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh”. (Pro 4:20-22 NKJV)
2. Feed on the word regularly – by reading and meditating on the word daily. Many know the importance of reading the word, but we must also realize the value of quiet meditation in the word. To meditate is to think deeply upon and mutter softly. Every christin should make it a priority to meditate on the scriptures in addition to their daily Bible reading and study. As the book of Joshua puts it:
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein for then thou shall make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”. (Joshua 1:8.)
3. Be a doer of the word (practice the word). Be quick to act on what the word says. Faith has been defined as acting on the word.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”. (James 1:22.)
One way to act on the word is to say the same thing as it.
“We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak”. (2 Cor 4:13).
The lifestyle of faith believes what the word of God says regardless of whatever the circumstances may be saying. That lifestyle is also bold enough to say what the Word of God says about the circumstance. Therefore, an important response to the Word of God is believing and speaking it.
4. Make the Word the final authority in your life. Every believer ought to consider the Word of God as the final authority in their lives. For example, when your body says you are sick and the Word of God says that you are healed (First Peter 2:24), the word ought to take preeminence over what your body is saying. To make the word of God your final authority is to put it above everything else. Even expert opinions!
So get speaking and acting on the word. That way, you will really be living a lifestyle of faith!
REV. DR TAIWO ADEEKO graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center Abuja, Nigeria. He is the founder and Senior Pastor of Refreshing Word Christian Centre, Kubwa Abuja. A Medical Practitioner turned teacher and Pastor. Rev. Taiwo, is married to Pastor Maria Adeeko and they are blessed with children. They are based in Abuja, Nigeria