The word worldview gets thrown around a lot. An individual’s worldview is a comprehensive perspective from which they see and interpret life. It’s kind of an elusive word. How you perceive something is influenced by where you come from and your experiences.

Everybody has a worldview, but I contend a biblical worldview is far more important. Perceiving and interpreting the realities of life through the lens of Scripture will keep you from being misled. Your worldview is shaped by your family and friends, your life experiences, the media, and social media or networks. The fact is, none of these sources offers a completely fair and balanced perspective.

A biblical worldview, however, leads us to moral absolutes and to the realities of miracles, redemption, and human dignity. You say, “Doug, do you really believe that strongly in the Word of God being foundational for everything?” Yes, I do, because I believe God has both the integrity and the ability to deliver on His Word and His promises.

Think about it: When someone is the victim of a broken promise, it’s either because the one making the promise did not have the integrity to follow through on their promise, or they lacked the ability or resources to back up the promise. But thankfully, God has both integrity and ability. He will follow through on everything He says in His Word, and His ability and His resources guarantee complete fulfillment of His promises.

I discovered firsthand God’s integrity and ability relating to His promises during my freshman year in Bible college. I am a third-generation Pentecostal preacher’s kid; yes, I was born and raised in the Assemblies of God. I grew up in the church; I cut my teeth on the back of church pews!

When I was 9 years old, my dad died suddenly of a heart attack — my brother was 15, and my sister was 18. My dad was only 41 years old when he passed away. I never felt the negative impact of being raised by a single mom.

You see, long before the phrase “spiritual father” became popular, I had a host of spiritual dads. I had Royal Rangers commanders who helped me build my Derby car; I had “dads” in youth group who took me on camp outs or to Detroit Tigers baseball games. I felt sorry for the kids who only had one dad.

When I felt the call of God on my life, I chose to come to Central Bible College to chase this ministry dream. At CBC I met other kids whose dads were pastors. Up and down the dorm hall, I was meeting preachers’ kids.

One of my hall mates was a preacher’s kid from Illinois. On weekends, he would go home and participate in the service or be part of church life for that weekend. When he came back to school, we’d stay up late on Sunday night talking church stuff. He’d say things like, “My dad said this is how we ought to do evangelism,” “My dad says this is how we ought to assimilate people,” or “My dad says this is how we ought to equip people for ministry.” Those statements had an impact on me and began to shift my thinking.

A biblical worldview leads us to moral absolutes and to the realities of miracles, redemption, and human dignity.

For the first time in my life, I felt I had been cheated by God. I thought, Lord, I would like a dad who would walk out these spiritual things with me; I would like a dad who would mentor me in pastoral philosophy. I started to develop a negative attitude toward God. I thought, Lord, You’ve cheated me here. You took my dad from me. Why would You do something so unjust to our family? Why would You leave me fatherless?

This mindset of an unjust God lingered with me, so much so that I was ready to quit school, go home, and just take care of my mom. I couldn’t figure out why God would do something like this. I remember calling my mom one evening and saying, “Mom, I can’t put this together. Can you connect the dots for me? Why would God do something so unjust and unfair to our family?”

As only a godly, wise pastor’s wife and mom could do, my mom said to me, “Honey, I can’t answer your whys, but I can promise you this,” and she broke into a beautiful prayer. Her prayer went something like this: “Lord, You said in Your Word … .” That prayer stands out forever in my memory, but let me tell you, my mom had used that phrase “Lord, You said,” a lot while I was growing up.

In this critically important prayer, she was spot-on, because she said, “Lord, You said in Your Word that You’d be a Father to the fatherless, and I claim that reality for my son Doug.”

We hung up, and I didn’t feel any better. A couple days later, in a Friday night missions service, when the missionary gave the call to come forward, the students were singing, “I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,” but I didn’t move. I just turned around and knelt at my chapel seat. By this time, I wasn’t even praying; I was just venting frustration to God. I was saying things like, “God, this stinks. God, this is not fair. Why would You do something like this to me and my family?”

Suddenly I felt the strength and warmth of this huge hand placed on my back. I turned and saw Coach Forrest Arnold — a 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound hulk of a man. He had his hand on my back. When I looked him in the face, I saw this big tear coming down his cheek. He said to me, “Doug, I knew your dad, and I know your mom, and both would be really proud of you. And I just want you to know that as long as you’re at Central Bible College, I consider you like my own son.”

Well, when he said “son,” I jumped up, and he hugged me, and like instant replay going off in my mind, my mom’s prayer came back to me: “Lord, You said in Your Word that You’d be a Father to the fatherless.”

From that day forward, I have never doubted God’s integrity or His ability to deliver on His Word.

God is infallible, and so is His Word. That’s why we embrace 2 Timothy 3:16 so strongly: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

I embrace the Bible so strongly, because when life doesn’t make sense, God’s Word gives us stability. Paul said in Philippians 4:6 (GNT), “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart.”

I embrace God’s Word so strongly, because we live in a time when society places a higher value on tolerance than it does on truth. However, God’s Word is truth. John wrote in 1 John 4:1 (The Message), “My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine everything people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God.”

Learning the Bible, knowing the Bible, and having a worldview shaped by the Bible is so important. And in my life, even in spiritual leadership, there is nothing more effective to anchor my emotions and protect my thinking when I’m going through difficult challenges than God’s Word.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of Called to Serve, the Assemblies of God Ministers Letter.