Then Your Life Will Show It

“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.”
James 3:13 (The Message)

If someone followed you around for a week without hearing a single word you said about your faith, what would they conclude?

Every summer growing up, Vacation Bible School closed with the same song: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." Cute, cheeky, and kind of geeky. But in that children's song is a line that turns out to be loaded with theological truth and it’s this, "If you're happy and you know it, then your life will surely show it."

What you really believe, you live. The rest is just talk.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21: It's not the words you say, it's the will you obey. And the will of God shows up not in what you claim on Sunday but in what you actually do the other six days.

So here are a few questions for an honest diagnosis:

Do you say you trust God with your finances, but carry a constant low-grade anxiety about money, working extra hours not to be generous but just to feel less afraid? 

Do you say you believe God hears your prayers, but can't remember the last time you actually sat down and prayed with any real intention? 

Do you say you believe God’s Word, but haven’t shared your story of faith with someone in years? 

The gap between what you say and what you do is not a guilt trip; it's information. It tells you exactly where your real belief lives and exactly where to start closing the distance.

Pick one area this week where your actions haven't caught up with your confession. Just one. Take one concrete step toward letting what's in your mouth get into your life.

If you know it, let it show.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Word, for exposing my intentions and thoughts. Lord, You know my heart for You, and You know whether my life lines up. Show me the gap between what I say I believe and how I live. I don't want to just talk about trusting and obeying You, I want to actually do it, starting this week. In Jesus' name, Amen.