Listen to all the instructions and act upon them

James 1:22 (NLT)

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

The apostle states that we should not just be ones who hear God’s word, but we should also put actions to what we hear and learn. The Greek word for “fooling” means to reckon wrong, cheat by false reasoning and to delude.  So those who hear what God say, but are not doers of His word are only deluding themselves about their actions.

Gregg Donnelly, of Maple Plain, Minnesota tells a story: Robert Kupferschmid was an 81-year old with no flying experience. However, due to a tragic emergency, he was forced to fly an airplane. On June 17, 1998, he and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana. During the flight, the pilot slumped over and died at the controls. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane began to nose-dive and Kupferschmid grabbed the controls. He got on the radio and pleaded for help.

Nearby were two pilots who heard the call. Mount Comfort was the closest airport, and the two pilots gave Kupferschmid a steady stream of instructions of climbing, steering—and the scariest part—landing. The two experienced pilots circled the runway three times before this somewhat frantic and totally inexperienced pilot was ready to attempt the landing.

Emergency vehicles were called out and ready for what seemed like an approaching disaster. Witnesses said the plane's nose nudged the center line and bounced a few times before the tail hit the ground. The Cessna ended up in a patch of soggy grass next to the runway. Amazingly, Kupferschmid was not injured.

This pilot listened and followed those instructions as if his life depended on it—and it did. Imagine what would take place in the lives of believers if we listened to and obeyed the Word of God with the same earnestness.

For some reading The Bible becomes a stressor in their life because the parts they hear is do this, do more, and more of this. They begin to feel guilt and stress. The problem is they are not reading the entirety of God’s word and acting upon what it says. Yes, God tells us things we should do or not do, but we also hear the words of Jesus telling us His burden is light. The Bible also tells us of God’s love, mercy and grace towards us. So in our hearing of the word we need to listen in full context and understand the grace of Salvation and act in accordance to that grace. God tells us what to do so like the pilot above we are able to land safely in life.