“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30
The word of God could be compared to a vitamin. It does for our soul what a vitamin does for our physical body, but in even greater and more perfect measure. The purpose of a vitamin is to build up our immunity to help us resist infections that try to attack our immune system (National Institute on Aging). Similarly, the word of God can be used to build up our spirit to resist the enemy that tries to attack our soul. Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” The authority is the Word of God. We are nothing in ourselves but with the Word we can defeat the enemy every time. But, if it is not in us, it can never come out of us. If we don’t know what it says we can’t apply it to our lives.
It's Proven
Vitamins are a meant to protect our bodies, although because they are human-made, they can be fallible. The scripture in Psalm 18 tells us that God’s word is “proven”. There is a debate about whether vitamins are really effective or not, and many people do not choose to take vitamins for this reason. It’s also hard to prove the benefit because the effect is not instant but gradual. Similarly, you will not see instant results from regularly reading the word, but over time the benefits will be evident. There should not be a debate over the necessity of the word of God in the life of a Christian because God says it is proven to be effective. Psalms 18 goes on to say God is a “shield.” In the original language, the word shield refers to “protector” and carries the imagery of the “scaly hide of the crocodile.” Who doesn’t want that kind of covering when the enemy is attacking? God gave us his Word to protect us. But just like it takes discipline to remember to take a daily vitamin, we need to remember to get the word of God in us every day. It can’t protect us if we aren’t taking it in. We need the word of God to be in us to be healthy Christians.
The Whole Bible
A.W. Tozer says it well “The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”
Activity
Think about the past month, do you feel that you are taking power over the enemy or is the enemy exerting power over you? If you have triumphed, what scriptures did you stand on? If you feel you have been failing in this area, right now take time to find a scripture or two that relates to your situation. Write it down, screenshot it, memorize it, whatever you need to do to keep it close at hand so that every time the situation arises you can use the scripture for power and protection.