Every book of the Bible is not going to give you a practical application exercise, but every book of the Bible has an overarching theme that can be put into practice.
Years ago, after being out of the workforce for two decades, I decided to go back to work part-time when an opportunity randomly presented itself. You see, I was looking at job ads for my daughter, not me. Not only did I find a job that my daughter ultimately was hired for, I found a job that fit my past work experience. Throwing caution to the wind, I applied for the position of Confidential Secretary to the school committee in the town I live in. I was called for an interview which had a panel of 10 people. Remember now, I had been out of the workforce for a very long time and it was an even longer time since I last went to an interview. I ended up being hired for the position with very, very big shoes to fill. The person working in that capacity before had been with the school district for years and was a beloved fixture there. Not only that, she was excellent at her job!
For the next two weeks, I spent my days reading up on open meeting laws and Robert’s Rules and being trained with hands-on experience in the day-to-day tasks that would be my job. Another woman was newly promoted to the position of Administrative Assistant to the superintendent, and, as such, we would be working closely together. We had a shared point of anxiety in that we both couldn’t wait until we knew the job like the back of our hands, when the learning curve would be straightened and we felt like we had been working there forever.
I would imagine that is true for any of you. It’s always uncomfortable when you are first learning a job. You have a lot of questions and even make a few mistakes. But then one day you find that the job comes easy; you are performing well and you are confident in your position, whatever that may be.
Many of us learn by doing. I’d venture to say most people are that way. When I started that job, it was like trial by fire. The job entailed much more than the amount of training I actually received, but I persevered and through immersing myself in the day-to-day, I became an expert in the job.
When it comes to reading the Word, how many of us become experts by doing? Or do we just read it and then forget it a few hours later? How many of us take to heart the verse from James 1:21b-25, which says, “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” I confess that too often I am just a hearer of the Word and not a doer. I would imagine I am not alone.
It can feel overwhelming to read a passage of Scripture and then put into practice any lessons contained within, almost like it will be impossible for us to accomplish. We may have that feeling of uncomfortableness like I did before I started my new job wondering how to perform well.
But take heart! I believe there are three practical ways to become a doer of the Word and not just a hearer:
1. Intently Look at the Word
There was a time when I approached Bible reading more as something to tick off my spiritual to-do list rather than a time of transformation with my Lord. Or I came to Bible reading as a consumer, looking for encouragement rather than conviction. Yet, we saw earlier that James is instructing us to “look intently at the perfect law”. "Intently" means “earnest and eager attention.” My two earlier approaches are the complete opposite of looking at the Word with earnest and eager attention.
A practical way to become a doer of the Word is by looking intently at the Scriptures, studying them, absorbing them, and memorizing them. I heard the story of someone who said, “I never remember what I’ve read in the Bible. I forget so easily what I read the week before or even the day before.” The person they were speaking to replied, “Do you remember what you had for breakfast last week?” The person who was frustrated in Bible reading said, “No." The other responded, “Even though you don’t remember what you had for breakfast, it still nourished your body with nutrients. Likewise, even if you don’t remember what you had read in the Bible the week before, it gives you spiritual nourishment, and the more you read, the more it is nourishing you and will eventually reap dividends.” I say this not to negate the importance of being a doer of the Word, but to emphasize that it all starts with looking intently at the Word. As you do, it will become more and more a part of you and will make “doing the Word” that much easier as it has subliminally been changing you from the inside out.
2. Pray for Wisdom
Every book of the Bible is not going to give you a practical application exercise, but every book of the Bible has an overarching theme that can be put into practice. There are other scripture passages that have a whole slew of practical applications. The obstacle is discovering how to be a doer of so many things at once, especially if you have struggled in those areas your whole life. It seems like you would be setting yourself up for failure…
So what do you do? You pray for wisdom. James 1:5 tells us, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Come before the Lord with the passage you have been looking intently at and ask Him what area He would like you to hone as a doer today. As we saw above, God promises to give us wisdom generously and without reproach. When we seek God in this way, He will direct us in the area He wants us to be a doer in first. It could be that we will be “doing” for a while until it becomes rote to us, but we can be assured that the Lord will give us victory because we sought Him in prayer and He showed us what to focus on first in our “on-the-job training.” Then you can return to that same passage if it had lots of “on-the-job training” opportunities and seek His face again for the next practical training in doing.
As you continue to look intently at the Word, reading through the Bible, you will gain more and more direction on where you need practical experience in being a doer of the Word.
3. Get Hands-on Experience
Once you have looked intently at the Word and prayed for wisdom, you are ready to embark on hands-on experience. All the building blocks are in place for success.
So what does hands-on experience look like for the job of “doer of the Word”? Let’s take Romans 12:10 as our practical application, which says, "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." If you’re like me, you tend to be selfish. I’m not proud of this at all. I am the type that if there are two brownies left and one is bigger than the other, I will pick the bigger one and give the smaller one to my husband. I know, it’s terrible. If I were “doing” this verse today, I would cheerfully and happily give my husband the bigger brownie. The thing is, our homes are the perfect training ground for being a doer of a verse like this. But sadly, too often, it is within our families that we are the ugliest. When we serve our family members with the level of humility showcased in this verse, it will carry over into other aspects of our lives.
Let’s say we have mastered the above verse and it is becoming part of our nature to have a servant’s heart, we can move on to another area that the Lord has directed us to and begin “doing” that while still practicing what we are more seasoned in.
This is just one example of how to take a verse and become a doer of it.
If we continue in this manner, our lives will be transformed and we will experience blessings in what we do.
Let us all prove ourselves to be doers of the Word by looking intently at the Word, praying for wisdom, and showing the fruit of our hands-on experience.
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