How Biblical Convictions Fuel and Direct My Life

With the school year about to begin, there are a lot of things that need to be done. I’ve spent the morning flipping back and forth through the Bible and my Systematic Theology (Grudem) book. This sounds odd to say, but i forgot how rich and profitable God’s Word is. Or, more specifically, i have neglected setting aside time to “soak” in Scripture. My time this morning has reminded me of the power of the Word of God to transform lives.

I used to think that theology and doctrine were disconnected from daily life. In my mind they were kind of evil and meant that you only studied books and were cold-hearted and lifeless or something. But then i never really dug into the Scriptures and saw how alive and connected everything was. For me, this began to change about two years ago when God used Mars Hill Church, a good friend, John Piper, and the Bible to challenge how i viewed His Word. My junior year of college was a painful battle of the mind where i moved from believing the words of the Bible as probable/possible to absolutely true. This began a season of reading the Bible for hours each day, foregoing sports, shows, and weekends with friends to read the Bible. My reasoning was basically, if this book is really, and i mean as real as you can get, about the God of the universe and life and everything, there is nothing else i want to watch, read, or experience. I had been wrestling with the reality of God simultaneously, so the logic was also that if God were an absolute reality and i could know him mainly through the book He wrote, why in the world would i put that off for something or someone else?

There are many doctrines i hold dear today, things i literally clutch to, and they come from Scripture. One of these is the sovereignty of God. For the last three months i have leaned into Proverbs 21:1 which states, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” It soon became clear that my best efforts to be articulate, humble, and clear in asking for the support i needed would be in vain if God did not turn a person’s heart to give. I also knew that God was well aware of my needs and would meet them (Matthew 6:32-34, 7:7-11; Psalm 84:11). These biblical convictions carried me through all my doubts and fears and the seemingly impossible task. It basically went: i have three months to raise all the money i need so that i can be on the field before school starts in september, God will make this happen, the support raising process is the means He ordained for me, and it might mean talking to one person who writes a check for the year or hundreds of smaller donors. This is what kept me going.

Now with my primary assignment shifting from gathering a ministry team to actively working to spread the gospel and see people meet Jesus, biblical convictions are my only foundation. John 10:16, the verse in the banner at the top of this page, is my confidence in going forth. Jesus said that there were other sheep, and he said they would listen to His voice. I don’t trust in myself or the person i talk to for salvation. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me i will never cast out” (John 6:37). Similar to the principles of support raising, i know that Jesus has people He will save, sharing the gospel in word and deed is the means, and it may mean one or thousands being saved, but the Word of God, namely John 6:37, will not fail.

This is a rock on which i will be leaning in the midst of many rejections. Pray for God to continually give me the grace to really believe the Bible and be empowered and encouraged by it. And pray for God to give many people the gift of faith like He did to me so that their lives can be redeemed and transformed by Jesus.