Let’s get into Words of Encouragement to see if we can make out what is real. Is it this world we live in that is real, or is it the spiritual realm? Which is more real, or which is really real? What is reality may surprise you.
Though the title and topic of discussion here is about reality, I want to take a look at substance and make a connection. This will help to determine the reality of it all.
Substance (noun) – the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence.
It Must Have Substance
So it seems if something is to be real, then it has to have substance to it. That makes sense, right? Otherwise, it is just make-believe, wishful thinking, or dreaming. Here are some phrases associated with the word substance:
- They are a person of substance (essence, material possessions)
- That substance (material) is silky
- That was a speech of substance (impact)
- That drug is a controlled substance (product)
- They are substance abusers 😲
These are different ways of looking at substance. So there are a few different ways to define it depending on how it is used. Does this make it real, tangible, and impacting?
Another way to think of substance:
Hebrews 11:1 KJV
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith Has Substance
Did you know that faith is and has substance (essence, tangibility, significance, impact)? And if it is true that substance is real (reality/tangible), what are we to make of this? If faith IS the substance could this mean that without faith nothing would be real?
Imagine with me for a moment. If faith not only has substance but is the evidence (proof, confirmation, verification) of things not seen, then this literally means that the spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm we live in. The fact is the physical realm came into existence from the spiritual realm.
Hebrews 11:3 NIV
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Be Careful What You Give Substance To
There are so many things flying around such as rumors, conspiracy theories, and lies. Does anything have substance to it anymore? There is usually a little substance in everything to make it believable. Even the devil doesn’t hit you straight up with a blatant lie. He stirs a little bit of truth, a little bit of substance with it.
So be careful listening to the world – the world of news, the world of social media, the world of biased information and influence. That which you subject yourself to begins to influence and impact you. You begin to believe things of the world more than you believe God’s word which the world was formed out of. It begins to have significance, essence, and substance in you. What makes what you hear, and who you heard it from, have more substance than what the word of God has?
2 Corinthians 4:18 AMP
So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.
Truth, the only truth that can be trusted, is God’s word. If whatever you hear or whatever you do is aligned with God’s word and the Spirit of God, then so be it. Otherwise, be careful.
God’s Word Gave The World Substance
Romans 10:17 KJV
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So we can substitute ‘the word of God’ for faith. So Hebrews 11:1 now reads, “The word of God is the substance and tangibility of things hoped for, the proof and confirmation of things not seen.”
The Word of God is often referred to as the Word of Truth or the Message of Truth. So we could even substitute Faith with the Message of Truth. So Hebrews 11:1 now reads, “The Message of Truth is the Word of God which is the substance and tangibility of things hoped for, the proof and confirmation of things not seen.”
Psalm 119:160a NASB
The sum of Your word is truth,
And should I go on? We also know that the word of God is life to us:
Matthew 4:4 NASB
But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
So God’s word is real. It has substance and is the evidence that what we don’t see does exist. It is reality, life, and it is life-sustaining. God’s word is not empty but has a purpose.
Isaiah 55:11 ESV
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Challenge of the Week
Live your life today with substance. Decide this week if this world is more real to you, or if God’s word that brought this world into existence is more real. What we see, what we hear, what we feel, and what we touch may not be what is reality. That is the reality of it.
Those things you’ve hoped for, speak it forth in prayer and make your requests to God be known throughout the week. God’s words are not without action, and the words you speak, when spoken from the heart and foundation of God, are not empty, are not void, but have purpose, and will accomplish that which it is sent out to do. So be it!
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