‘I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.’Psalms 138:2 NLT

I remember sitting beside the son of a former Vice President of Nigeria at a breakfast meeting with a former President of Nigeria. I was part of the entourage of a dear friend and his international guest from the United States of America. The meeting was timed as the next appointment on the President’s agenda was to head for the airport to welcome another president to Nigeria. Getting restless due to a delay in serving the breakfast, he yelled, ‘Hayyyy!’ And like the flash of lightning, several chefs filed out of the kitchen like programmed robots to fill the dining table with food.

My eyes were popping with bewilderment as I had never witnessed such speed of service before nor a man of authority shout like that. ‘That is authority,’ said the son of the former Vice President who had witnessed a similar display of power before. He continued, ‘That’s why they like that office and many never want to leave.’ Can you imagine how much money the man’s signature moves every day? Incredible!

Authority is a legal right and privilege and comes in many forms and exercised in many fashions. However, because He created the universe and designed it all by Himself and for His glory, God is the supreme authority over the entire universe and deserves the reverence and submission of all creation. His name represents His reputation, authority and character. Psalm 138:1-2, in its Hebraic sense, presents God as worthy to be worshiped for His unfailing love and faithfulness.

These two attributes in their original meanings present God as a covenant keeper who is bound to keep His promises and who is faithful to His Word. For these two attributes, the KJV presents the verse as if God’s Word is exalted above His person. It simply states that God has thrown all the weight of His character and authority behind His Word. He has made His Word ‘final authority.

’‘I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.’Psalm 138:2 KJV

Coming to terms with how God views His Word has meant a lot of difference for me in my journey of Faith. Faith in the promises of God is literally faith in God Himself. We must consciously accept the Word as ‘final authority’ and therefore realise that as ‘Truth’ is an authority on earth, so is the Word of God ‘Ultimate Truth.’ You can bury the truth for a hundred years and yet it will rise to the top eventually. Lies do not last but rather give way to Truth in the long run. In the same vein, if only we will learn to hold on to the Word of God as final authority even when our circumstances say otherwise, we will end up seeing our circumstances line up with the Word of God. The Word is the controlling factor and will reshape every circumstance into its image.

‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.’John 17:17 KJV

The Lord Jesus prayed to the Father to sanctify us through ‘His Truth’ which is His Word. In the midst of moral struggles and character weaknesses, if we will take hold of the ‘Truth’ of His Word, we will find victory. The same holds true concerning our health. Regardless of the prognosis or diagnosis, His Word declares we are healed and when we take His Word as final authority, our health will end up lining up with His Word (Proverbs 4.20-22).

‘He sent his word, and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.’Psalm 107:20 KJV

Paul had known he would face persecution in Jerusalem before heading out there for the feast of Passover in Acts 21. After his arrest, he had an encounter with the Lord Jesus:‘And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.’Acts 23:11 KJV

What an amazing and comforting promise! He will testify in Rome! But between that promise and the fulfillment, there were rough circumstances ahead. He would be tried and later whisked away to Caesarea, from there to Rome. He wouldn’t get to Rome without arriving in Malta after a storm and shipwreck. The circumstances kept looking like the opposite of what the Word says. However, the promise the Lord made to him eventually came to pass. God wants you and I to take Him at His Word. To pray without faith is to waste our efforts. To pray without standing on a promise of the Word is to pray without faith. Faith is always based on hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Taking God at His Word is real faith.

‘But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.’James 1:6-7 KJV

God is behind His promises and He will make them a reality in your life if you will learn to trust His promises. His promises are full of His authority. He is behind them and will make them a reality in your life.

Victor Adeyemi