“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
The word "doer" from James 1:22 in the original language (poiētēs) means to "poetically perform or act out."
The definition of "poetic" is: having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression.
The idea is this; imaginatively and emotionally express the Word of God.
This process starts in your heart.
"Doing the Word" is more than mere outward obedience, it's a process of holding the Word of God in your heart until it bursts out of you as fruit. On the outside, legalism and fruit can look the same. But legalistic acts leave you empty, cold, and faithless.
When you stand on or outwardly express God's logic and wisdom from a heart full of faith, you will not waiver and you will ultimately see the manifestation. But when you merely mentally ascend to the truth with no root system developed in your heart through poetically performing it inwardly, you will be disappointed and empty, even though mentally you think you are acting in faith. Faith is not blind, faith is the outward expression of a fully developed process that begins in your heart.
Poetically performing the Word of God in your heart will cause the Word to become believable. When it's believable, it's possible. When it's possible, your heart will stay receptive to God's leading.
When the Word of God no longer seems possible in any given situation, you must take the time to imagine and emotionally engage the Word in your heart until you see it as possible again.
Get a picture inwardly of what it looks like to be free from whatever is causing failure or worry in your life. See it in your heart, emotions, and your mind first.
If in your mind you're dealing with life through the filter of worry, fear, confusion, guilt, shame; it will filter your decisions. So you want to get a clear inner picture until it becomes your identity. Once God’s Word transforms your identity, every decision you make from then aligns with God's truth.
It becomes this guard that keeps you from making decisions to the contrary. The Word of God truly becomes a lamp for your feet.
If you want to hear more about this idea, watch the video above. Jump to the 38:00 minute mark and pick up on poetically performing the Word.
