Virginia Brandt Berg (1898-1968)
GOD WILL LEAD YOU ALONG IF YOU'LL LET HIM! If you'll listen to His Word and if you'll be obedient and follow that leading, God will lead you along. The Word of the Almighty God cannot fail, you can depend upon it.
WHEN I FIRST LEARNED THAT, I CAME INTO A SPIRITUAL ALERTNESS and I saw that through the years the Bible had never been a living, vital thing to my heart, but rather a sort of a combination of creeds and doctrines and wise sayings and printers' ink.
I HAD NEVER KNOWN THE POWER IN THE WORD OF GOD nor believed at all that it could bring to pass miracles by its very Creative Power!
I DON'T KNOW WHY IT WAS THAT SOMEONE HADN'T TOLD ME THE TRUTH OF THESE THINGS! But suddenly a deep conviction dawned on my soul that God could not fail His Word. I true, God said it and it's true!"
I HAD KNOWN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND MUCH OF CHURCH ORGANIZATION BEFORE THIS TIME, but I'd never really believed God's Word, nor had I met Christ personally. My experience with the church -- well, I had been a little disappointed with the particular church I was in. It seemed tediously humdrum with any power.
IT WAS THROUGH A LITTLE TRACT FOLDER THAT WAS PUT IN MY HAND by a Gospel preacher that I came into the most glorious experience! Oh, excitingly wonderful! It brought into my life unbelievable victory and complete healing of my sick body.
GONE WAS THE UNBELIEF AND THAT SENSE OF FUTILITY AND DISAPPOINTMENT, and there arose in my heat an unnamed hunger. Christ came into my life to fully satisfy! When that conviction dawned upon my heart I was a total invalid, utterly helpless, given up by a number of physicians.
BUT I HAD BEEN NEWLY BORN AGAIN NOW AND MY FAITH HAD BEEN ENCOURAGED TO LOOK TO THE LORD to restore my health and to raise me up. I was really blind at that time -- had been -- to the way of faith, and I felt I must have some evidence before I could believe -- which is really walking by sight and not by faith!
I HAD BEEN PRAYED FOR FOR MY HEALING, AND I HAD WAITED FOR GOD TO LET ME SEE SOMETHING to prove He had heard and answered, because for me then to see was to believe, which of course isn't the right way! The World says see and you will believe, but the Bible says, believe and you will see!
IT WAS AT THAT TIME THAT GOD BROUGHT CERTAIN SCRIPTURES TO MY MIND to show me that I must believe simply because God said so. And soon that faith came into my heart, simply on what God's Word said, not by anything I saw or felt.
I BELIEVED GOD HAD HEARD OUR PRAYERS, AND HE HAD ANSWERED! And I believed that He had reached down and had healed me! And it was so, simply because God said so, and that was enough.
MY HEART LEAPED WITH JOY, and when the realization came, that moment there was born something in my soul which has never changed from that day to this: An abiding, unshakable faith in God's Word. Again and again lying there so helpless I had whispered over and over, "It is the Word of God, it cannot fail. It's God's Word and He cannot lie."
I SEEMED TO SEE THIS MARVELOUS WORD OF GOD JUST MARCHING DOWN THE CENTURIES of time, indestructible, infallible, inexhaustible, unchangeable! What a joy came into my heart as I realized I had such an anchor to hold on to! There was in my heart the substance of things hoped for, the belief in things not seen! -- Heb.11:1.
SO FAR AS GOD WAS CONCERNED, I BELIEVED THE WORK WAS DONE, FOR WE HAD MET HIS CONDITIONS and there was His Promise very plain and sure, that He would not, could not fail His Word, and I was not going to doubt that Word.
WELL IT HAPPENED! IT HAPPENED JUST AS HE HAD PROMISED, EXACTLY! And I was completely healed! Yes, that was many years ago and I have lived these many years to serve Him, and still on the firing line! From that day to this I have never doubted the power of the Word of God! John 6:63 says,
"THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE." When we come into that realization -- that there is power in what God says in His Word -- then we have hold of the truth that makes all things possible! Numbers 23:19 says,
"GOD IS NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE, NEITHER THE SON OF MAN THAT HE SHOULD REPENT: Hath He said and shall He not do it?" -- Take that to your heart! Whatever the need is in your life right now as you are reading, just hug that to your heart: Let it quicken your faith! Don't care what people say, or how the World is living around you!
THAT'S THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD! God said it and so it's true. "Hath He said it and will He not do it?" -- He will do it for you! The Scripture continues this way: "Or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?" -- Isn't that wonderful! God has spoken and He's going to make it good!
DON'T LET THEM SHAKE YOUR FAITH! DON'T YOU BELIEVE ANY OF THE DOUBTS the Devil puts in your mind. "Hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?" Well God made it good in my case and He raised me up off that sick bed? I had been an invalid for five years!
IT'S THE FAITH THAT CAME IN MY HEART, THAT BECAUSE GOD SAID IT, IT WAS TRUE! In 1Kings 8:58 God's Word says, "There hath not failed one word of all His good promises." -- Well, He's not going to fail in any of them for you! That burden you carry today, cast it upon Him.
NOT FAILED IN "ONE WORD!" NOT JUST "ONE PROMISE," BUT ON "ONE WORD" OF ALL OF HIS GOOD PROMISES He has not failed! In Psalm 89:33, "He will not suffer His faithfulness to fail!" And then He says in another place, "I will not fail you nor forsake you!" Oh God grant that His Word will have a pre-eminent place in your life!
WHEN YOU'RE OBEDIENT TO THAT WORD, HIS BLESSINGS WILL BE POURED OUT! When we yield ourselves to His Word He does guide! He leads His dear children along just as He promised He would. So He led me along step by step just like He will you:
"THOUGH SORROWS BEFALL US AND SATAN OPPOSE
God leads us along.
Through grace we can conquer and defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.
Sometimes through the waters and some through the flood,
And some through the fire, but all through the Blood.
Some through great sorrows, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long."
GOD WILL LEAD YOU ALONG! IT IS HIS WORD, HE HAS PROMISED TO DO IT! When you yield yourself to His Word He will guide your life daily and faith will spring invincible and then you'll shout triumphantly also, "It's so because God said so. What He has promised He is able also to perform!"
SAY IT OVER AND OVER TO YOURSELF, "WHAT HE HAS PROMISED HE IS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM!" And if you are not a saved one -- why do you carry the burden of sin? In 1John 1:9 it says:
"IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AND CLEANS US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." Then why don't you confess your sin? God will keep His Word! He'll not fail His Word! It's so, He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness! He says,
"IF THOU WILT CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH CHRIST IS LORD, and believe in thy heart God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." -- Rom.10:9. Don't you want to be free from the burden of sin? And have peace come into your heart and let God lead you along? Lead you all the way?
HOW WONDERFUL TO HAVE SUCH A POWER TO LEAD YOU ALONG! And He'll keep His Word! He will not fail you! You will be a new man or woman.
"IT IS SO BECAUSE GOD SAID SO!" Amen?
* * * * * * *
SOMETIMES IN THE PAST I'VE HAD TO ASK MYSELF, AM I WHERE GOD CAN MEET ME? Am I on praying ground where I can truly expect God to answer my prayers? I believe He's so willing, and I do not say this lightly. I believe God's willing to answer prayers, to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think, as His Word says, but there are conditions to be met!
A VISITING FRIEND WAS TELLING ME OF THE HARD PLACE HE HAD GOTTEN INTO financially, that is, not able to collect much of what was due him. He was really murmuring about it. Then he added, "I do know God's able to prosper me and make Malachi 3:10 come true in my life." Malachi 3:10 says, "I will open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing there's not room enough to hold."
WELL, IT TOOK SOME COURAGE FOR ME TO ASK HIM THEN, "BUT HAVE YOU FULFILLED YOUR PART OF THAT BARGAIN? For you only quoted half of that verse, it says, 'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in My house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts.' And then of course it goes on to say,
"I'LL OPEN THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN AND POUR YOU OUT A BLESSING, there will not be room enough to hold it!" Then his wife spoke up and said, "No, we haven't done our part. He always makes the excuse that the government got the part that he would have given to the Lord!" -- Well, all this doesn't change the verse any, does it?
IT'S THERE AND IT'S TRUE! It's God's Word and you can trust Him to utterly fulfill it. It is so because God said so!
HE STANDS BEHIND EVERY PROMISE IN THAT WORD WITH ALL HIS POWER. And that power enables Him to fulfill His Word and His love makes Him yearn to give you the desire of your heart, and His truth won't let Him fail His Word, and His mercy stoops down to the level of your need. William Olney expresses it this way:
"I WILL NOT THEREFORE MINIMIZE MY PRAYER
But make it large as all the promises!
Since God is willing thus to bless,
No less an answer would I share!
Alas for my small faith
Compared with what He saith,
Therefore, hencewith shall prayer be heard
From me according to God's Word.
I will request as long as I shall live,
All God has shown His willingness to give,
As all the love and power His truth declares,
So faith shall make the measure of my prayers!"
-- And you know that brings to mind that precious old song:
'TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS
Just to take Him at His Word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, 'Thus saith the Lord.'
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease,
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest and joy and peace.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Jesus, precious Jesus,
O for grace to trust Him more!"
-- From Hebrews 6:15 we read, "And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise." And I like this from Mountain Trailways:
"GOD'S WORD IS AS FULL OF PROMISES AS THE HEAVES ARE FULL OF STARS, and all of them are payable upon demand according to the conditions named. They are made freely and they are paid fully. Spurgeon calls the book of God's promises "The Checkbook of the Bank of Faith.' We do not have checkbooks for an ornament or for meditation, but for use!
"A PROMISE OF GOD IS GIVEN TO BE PRESENTED AND PAID IN FULL. The believer's capital for the King's business is all lodged in the Lord's treasury and the only way to secure it for use is to make daily drafts upon the unfailing supply.
"GOD WRITES NO NAMES UPON THESE PROMISES, ONLY CONDITIONS UPON WHICH THEY WILL BE HONORED. Put your name in, fulfill the conditions and draw upon God for all He promises! Now some promises are payable upon demand" -- now this fits in with our Scripture in Hebrews, "And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promises" --
"SOME ARE PAYABLE UPON DEMAND, OTHERS ARE DATED FATHER ON. But a long-term promise of God is as sure of payment as one payable on demand! Be sure of the time limitation of God's promises, and if delayed, look at your dates!" And then he makes this statement, "The possibilities of prayer are bounded by the promises of God." I want to repeat that:
"THE POSSIBILITIES OF PRAYER ARE BOUNDED BY THE PROMISES OF GOD." -- You know I take God's Word literally, and because of this I've sometimes had to stand out against leaders who try to spiritualize so many things in the Word of God. Just recently I was visiting with relatives in the church where the pastor was teaching the adult Sunday School class, and the lesson was from the Book of Genesis.
HE BEGAN TO TELL US THAT THIS VERSE DIDN'T MEAN WHAT IT STATED, and that verse wasn't to be take literally, and the next verse wasn't to be accepted as a fact, that it was only meant as a sort of a picture, just a picture, an underlying truth.
IT WAS JUST THE UNDERLYING TRUTHS OF THESE VERSES THAT COUNT ANYHOW, not that they were just things that really happened! Soon I couldn't stand it any longer for the sake of strangers visiting there, so I said to the pastor,
"WELL, MY FRIEND, JUST WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINES BETWEEN WHAT'S TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY AND THAT WHICH IS NOT? How are we going to know what's to be spiritualized and what we're just to accept as a fact of truth?" Well, he tried to answer but in the end he got so confused and then he said there wasn't any definite rule, that it just took "lots of wisdom and judgment."
I ASKED HIM, "DO THE LITTLE CHILDREN AND VERY YOUNG IN THIS CHURCH HAVE THAT KIND OF WISDOM and judgment that they can differentiate between that which is a fact and that which we are just not to take as any truth at all, but just a spiritual thought?" -- What do you think he answered? He said, "Of course it's not the best to teach these things to young people."
I MENTION THIS BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I TAKE GOD'S WORD AS THAT WHICH REALLY HAPPENED, I take it literally. I'd love for you to read one of my books and then you'd know just how literally take God's Word and how truly I believe all this. When the conviction first dawned on my soul that God could not, would not, fail His Word,
I SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN, "THIS IS THE WORD OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD, IT CANNOT FAIL, you can depend on it." Put your finger on a verse, some promise, and say, It's so because God says so!
WHEN THIS REALIZATION CAME IT BROUGHT WITH IT A LASTING UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE in the Word of God, because at the time it came to me I was a total invalid, utterly helpless, given up by physicians!
BUT I HAD BEEN NEWLY BORN AGAIN and my husband had taught me just newly the way of faith. Oh how wonderful it was when I found out that Jesus Christ was the same yesterday, today and forever! Now that was many years ago, but from that day I've never doubted the power of the Word of God!
JOHN 6:63 SAYS, "THE WORDS I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE!" And when we come into this realization of the power there is in the Word of God, then we have hold of the truth that makes all things possible! -- And the all things" came to pass with me! God answered prayer and raised me up and I've been over 45 years in the work of the Lord.
MEDITATE ON THESE VERSES, "GOD IS NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE, neither the son of man that he should repent, hath he said it and shall he not do it! Or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?" That's Numbers 23:19. And 1Kings 8:56, "There hath not failed one of all His good promises!" And Psa.89:33, He "... Will not suffer His faithfulness to fail!"
TO ALL OF YOU HE SAYS, "I WILL NOT FAIL YOU." -- God grant that His Word will have a pre-eminent place in your life! When you're obedient to the Word His blessing will be poured out; when you yield yourself to His Word He'll guide your life daily and faith will spring invincible, and you can shout triumphantly,
"IT'S SO BECAUSE GOD SAYS SO! WHAT HE HAS PROMISE[D HE IS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM!" -- God bless you and make it very real to you. He's still on the Throne and prayer will change things.