You will, if you havent already, come to a point in your life when you know there is more. Whether your saved or not, God is calling you to more. There are way to many people who live in this mundane world, fixated on their own needs. They refuse to serve the One who was hung by His limbs upon a splintering cross with thorns placed upon His head. How selfish are we? I don't understand how it doesnt sicken people to live their normal life knowing that deep down, And believe me, I was there for a very long time.
The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 talks about faith. But two of my favorite verses are Hebrews 11:1 and 6, which says:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Verse one is pretty much the biblical definition of faith. We'll deal with it in a minute. But verse six always hits me hard. God is telling us that we can not, in any way, shape or form, please God without having the faith that He can accomplish it. You must first believe that He is. This means that you believe that He will take care of your situation no matter how complicated it may be.
Sometimes we give things to God, but we lack the faith in believing He WILL take care of it. How many times have you (because I know I have) given something to God and then in the back of your mind, you think, "I need to fix it" or "There is no way I can ever get over this". Have you seen your problem yet? The word "I" has come up. I can do this, and I can fix that, and I just need some time to figure it out. No. God is the only one who can heal the pain or the discontentment we struggle with.
So the second part of this verse, He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Diligence is probably the most important word in this section. We sometimes get this mindset that if we give our life or problem to Him once then everything will be a-okay! Wrong answer (as my dad would say)! Having faith that Christ loves us and wants more than anything to take care of us involves daily trust and quality time with Him. I have a friend who has struggled with her salvation for a very long time. She believes that Christ saved her, but everyday Satan pops his head back in her mind and creates doubt. The other day I told her that she needs to remember that beleieving is a one-time deal. She needs to have faith in His never-failing promise on a daily basis. She might have to diligently seek Him daily.
Luke 9:23 says:
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 KJV)Even Jesus himself said we have to make a daily surrender to follow Him. Constantly surrender to Him.
So back to this whole faith thing. It says that without faith, you can not please our Lord. It's saying that if we don't completely surrender to Him everything we own spiritually, physically, and emotionally, then God will not use us. I'm not sure about you, but I desperately want God to use me with every ounce of my being.
This morning I read my devo in His Princess Warrior by Sheri Rose Shepherd. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The quote I prized the most was, "Your trials will lead you to an abundant life of effective and everlasting ministry if you will allow Me to carve in your character a true reflection of Me while you are in the fire where your faith is being tested."
I guess what I love most about this quote is that our trials are not endured invain. God is preparing us for the adventure of a lifetime. When we truly surrender to Him, we will be tried and tested. Honestly, we may go through the most sudden, heartbreaking hardship we ever have! But we can be confident in faith that God is going to use your hardships to shape you into the ministry your life will lead. However, it takes faith in knowing that you are being molded in order to persevere.
So I'm asking you, and myself, today. Do you have the faith to believe He has an adventure for you and faith in the fact that He is strengthening you for the road He has set you upon?
Smiling with you,
Libbie
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