Dear Precious Friends,
On this beautiful new day, I pray you are waking up to a new day filled with faith and trust in the Lord knowing He is with us, He loves us and paid the price for eternal life with Him. Now that is GOOD NEWS!!! So what are we to do in these times of trouble?
We walk by faith. Faith believes what it can’t see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Often, we only believe what we can see. But just as an athlete endures the rigors of training by picturing themselves winning, we need to picture ourselves prospering at the end of any trials. How? Through faith in God and His promises, we can begin to see the victory He has planned for us.
Faith believes what it doesn’t understand. I love looking at some of the amazing examples of great faith in scripture for inspiration and reminders of truth. Consider Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 tells us that out of obedience to God, Abraham left his country without even knowing where he was going. His own reasoning certainly must have been cautioning him to think of his family and the security he was leaving behind. Yet, he obeyed God and eventually received the promise. Then there was Noah. God told him a flood was going to destroy the earth, but he had never seen anything more than a mist. Nevertheless, Noah went against his own understanding and built the boat that saved himself and his family.
How about us? DO we have faith in God and do things His way, or will do we do what we think is best? Isaiah 55:9 says God’s ways are higher than ours. We aren’t going to understand everything God says and does – it’s beyond our human comprehension. We must make the decision to believe Him, whether it seems to make sense or not. If we start trusting God for small things now, we will experience His faithfulness and be ready for bigger challenges as they arise.
Faith puts God first. In Genesis 4:3-4, we read how Cain brought the Lord an offering from the fruit of the ground while Abel brought some of the firstlings of his flock. The Bible says God respected Abel and his offering, but not Cain’s. You see, Abel gave God some of the first that he had, but Cain simply gave God an offering.
God wants to be first in our lives – not just in our giving but in every area. Put Him first through faith, and watch what happens!
Faith persists when it doesn’t “feel like it.” We live in a feeling-oriented society where the majority of people are ruled by their emotions. Just think about what might have happened if Moses had relied on his feelings. Hebrews 11:27 (NIV) says, “By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.” He didn’t allow himself to be ruled by fear. While there were many things Moses could have done, he made a decision to keep his eyes on God and, as a result, he delivered God’s people.
Finally…
It has been rightly said that if you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.
It may be that we are facing a big obstacle or many small ones. It could be that our finances are out of control. Maybe someone has mistreated us, or perhaps you are experiencing marriage or family problems. We may have received a bad report from the doctor. Whatever it is that we are going through, recognize that God is bigger than all of our problems combined. He will never leave us or forsake us and He loves us so much He engraved our name on the palm of His hand.
Whether we are facing our darkest hour or going through a “small” trial, don’t give up. By faith, start seeing the victory God has in store for us. Believe what He says and keep Him first. He will walk with us all the way to victory!
May we stand firm in our faith trusting in Him for ALL things.
AMEN.
