I’ve been talking the last few days on worry, and that Jesus commands us not to do it. Today I came across the Scripture that tells us how to move forward in faith–just do it and see what happens. “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” (John 7:17-18)

Jesus told us over and over again in Scripture that He spoke what the Father told Him to speak. With the Scripture above, Jesus gives those listening a challenge, do what you know to be God’s will and see what happens. “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) A doctor may learn all that the medical books can teach him, but until he gets his hands into surgery or dispenses medicines to people who are sick he never really learns. The same is true in any field: You learn by doing. When you do what Jesus says, you begin to understand with a deep conviction that he knows what life is all about.

Christians who immediately practice what they have learned, grow with astonishing rapidity. They become grown up, capable, well-adjusted whole persons, seemingly almost overnight, while others who sit under the teaching of the Scripture for years hardly seem to grow at all; they are still childlike in their behavior, emotionally upset, anxious, and fear-ridden. This is because they are not doing what they hear. Those who put into practice the truth they hear begin to grow immediately.

The Lord has reminded me yet again of the text where Jesus tells us not to worry, “Therefore I tell you: ‘Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?…But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matt 6:25, 33) I’m being prodded to not merely hear the words and let them refresh me today, but to put His words to practice. To seek Him first, listen to what He says and do it, watch what happens, and trust that He knows what’s best for me.

Thank you, Lord, for your clear teaching about life. Forgive me for my self-deceits, my falsehoods, my lying to myself. Keep me trusting Your Word, understanding it and seeking to obey it that I might learn what it really says. In the precious name of Jesus, who is our High Priest who is able to empathize with our weakness, amen.