By Tom Wiles
Columnist

Fail

“For the word of God will never fail.” — Luke 1:37

Fail.

I don’t like that word.

I know it’s just a word, and it’s really not fair to single it out.

The problem for me is it’s attached to way too many negative memories and emotions in my life. Times I didn’t come through under pressure. Times I gave in to temptation. Times I hurt the ones I love. Times I trusted in something or someone and they couldn’t endure the crucible of testing.

Yikes!

Maybe, just maybe, you can appreciate my struggle with the word fail.

The verse above was spoken by one of God’s angels. He had front seats to the truthfulness of his proclamation.

God’s word never fails.

Another translation reads, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

Now that feels a whole better to me.

This world is full of pretenders.

“Trust me! Trust me!”, they say.

All we end up with is frustration and disappointment.

God’s word, however, is better than rock solid. Even mountains crumble given enough pressure, but God’s word never will.

There are no shortage of people in this world proclaiming they know what’s best for us. They are convinced all we have to do is believe what they do, and all will be well.

The fundamental problem as I see it is the fact they are not my creator. Jesus is.

He speaks with complete clarity, knowledge, perspective and love.

His word is perfect and infallible.

It is the light for our feet in a dark and dangerous world.

Everything and everyone else including ourselves are destined to fail. Let’s choose to take our stand on the eternally stable word of God.

Listen

The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night his knowledge is proclaimed. They speak without a sound or a word; there’s no speech or language where their voice is not heard. — Psalm 19:1-3

Talking is a big deal in my family. When the five kids were young and all at home — yikes! The waterfall of words at the dinner table fell unimpeded.

Typically, there were at least two talking at all times, and there seemed to be this unwritten rule that any story had to be repeated four times.

I never did figure that one out, but I did figure out that if I listened closely enough, I would gain great insight into the world of whoever was speaking.

The Psalmist picked up on this same phenomenon when he looked up. Day or night, it didn’t matter, powerful words were being spoken.The subject of the conversation was and is always the same — God.

When listened to carefully, the conversation of creation reveals great insights into who he is and what he is like.

And, since he is infinite, the conversation will never run out of fresh content. The creation calls out boldly, drawing the attention of every people group on planet Earth.

What do you hear when you listen to all that God has made?

Perhaps another question should be asked first: “Are you taking time to listen to God’s creation?”

Any time of day is fine. Just take time to listen. Some serious truths are being revealed, even at this very moment, that have tremendous implications for our lives.

What do you say we take a minute and listen in?

Tom Wiles is the senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church. He can be reached at 765-778-3166 or [email protected].