Faith is the Key

Posted on September 19, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters

We will never grow in our faith until we come to grips with the fact that what God says is ‘The Truth.’ And without faith that looks past the storms to the truth of God’s promises, we will never know the blessings He has established for us.

With God, ‘all things are possible!’ How many times has God stated this truth? One occasion I can think of was to Abraham and Sarah when God told them that they would have a son in their old age. When Sarah laughed at this and said, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ God responded, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Gen 18:13-14) Then there is the time God told Jeremiah to purchase a piece of land from his cousin even though the Babylonians were about to conquer Israel; He did this to show that one day, His people would again own property in Israel. When Jeremiah addresses his concerns to The Lord, God states again, “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) Probably the most relevant example of God stating this truth was to Mary through the Angel of The Lord; He told her she would conceive as a virgin by the power of ‘The Spirit’ and bear a son who she was to name Jesus. The Angel of the Lord told her the child, “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” When Mary responded, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” The Angel of the Lord declared, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:32-37) In each instance, the recipient of God’s Word took Him seriously and walked by faith; Jeremiah purchased the land before many witnesses, Mary replied, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38), and it is written of Abraham, “He believed God, and God counted him as righteousness because of his faith.” (Rom 4:3)

We will never go any further than our faith will take us because faith is the conduit by which God pours out His blessing into our lives. No faith, no divine grace; little faith, little benefit, but ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding… and you will know great blessings! It is that simple. Sure you can live out your life benefitting from God’s essential plan for existing; air to breathe, the warmth of the sun, some food on the table, believing the motto, ‘let’s eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we will die!’ But is that what our loving God has created us for? Augustine proclaimed, “O God, Thou has made us for Thyself, and our souls can never find rest until they rest (by faith) in thee.” We are created to participate in God’s perfect will and bring glory to His name. But to do this, we must be holy as God is holy, for surely anyone who leaves God’s holiness out of the equation, will be destroyed by the very nature and intensity of His holiness. But God in His love for us has provided a way to come boldly into His presence and enjoy His divine blessing for eternity; it is through the conduit of faith placed in the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. When we live by faith, taking God’s Word seriously, not trusting in what we see or how we feel, Peter tells us, “God’s grace and peace will be multiplied to us in the knowledge of Himself and Jesus our Lord; — seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

For this very reason, apply all diligence in allowing God to grow faith in you. In this faith let moral excellence grow, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. If these qualities are yours and are increasing (a maturing faith), they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who lack these qualities are blind or short-sighted, having forgotten their purification from their former sins. Therefore, child of God, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2 Peter 1:3-11)

With God, ‘all things are possible!’ but to enjoy His grace and blessings being multiplied in you requires faith, that is taking God’s Word seriously, putting off your will and living likeminded with Him. There is hope, and His name is Jesus, I pray you humbly submit to His authoring a faith in you that knows His eternal blessing.

 

Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is the Associate Pastor of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church. He is the author of two devotional books, “From a Chair by the Window.” And “#PrayerWinsThe Day”.

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This Week’s Verse to Memorize:  “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22