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My Righteous One Will Live by Faith

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“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.” –St Augustine

I spent a good bit of my life misunderstanding faith. Instead of exercising it and living my life by it, I thought of faith more like a noun—something we hold in our hearts. If we simply possess enough of it, God will act on our behalf, right?

Then I found myself discouraged because I didn’t see God move. It left me wondering about my own condition. Did I not have enough faith?

Perhaps you’ve been there, wondering why others can share powerful testimonies of how God showed up in their need, but you’re left doubting yourself and the God you claim to trust because your circumstances haven’t changed.

Dear one, if that’s you, perhaps you’ve missed the beautiful foundation through which true faith must flow: relationship.

Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Look at the actions describing one who pleases God with faith. Not only must we believe He exists, but we must “come to Him” in that belief. True faith can only be exercised by one who comes near to God. And that approach isn’t simply uttering a casual prayer when the need arises. The verse is clear that God rewards those who “earnestly seek Him.”

Consider Romans 10:17:

“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

Dear one, faith is birthed in us when we hear a message through the Word of Christ. Perhaps our faith is failing us because we haven’t drawn near to Christ to hear what He is saying. Maybe we’ve told God what we think we need, even believing He can provide it, but we haven’t approached Him to listen for what He knows we need. Beloved, faith comes from hearing.

In John 10:3-4, Jesus describes the true nature of faith.

“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

We express faith as we trust and follow. In order to follow, we must quiet ourselves and draw near to the One who speaks. Perhaps we don’t see God moving on our behalf because we haven’t bothered to quiet ourselves to hear Him speaking (Psalm 46:10). We haven’t given Him the opportunity to reveal His thoughts on the matter. Instead of following behind, we’ve wandered toward what we think we need and expected God to come with us.

Beloved, Jesus releases His power where He is. If you want to see Him move in your circumstances, you must draw near to Him with an open, listening heart. As He faithfully whispers His will into your life, you must trust Him through your obedience. Your faith—initiated as you hear from Him (Romans 10:17) and completed as you follow His instruction to you (James 2:22)—will open the door to the release of His grace.

You will see Him move. Perhaps not the way you first thought He would, but you will see Him nonetheless.  And you will discover with a thankful, joyous heart, that Jesus is, indeed, faithful. His love is better than life.

 

Living Your Faith

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“ . . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8

Jesus posed an interesting question to His disciples while He walked among them. When He returns to claim His throne, will He find faith among His people?

Let’s take it a step further. When He looks at your life, dear one, does He find faith?

I used to have a very different understanding of faith. I viewed it more like a possession than an action. Somehow I thought if I had enough of it, I would please God; then I would see Him move. When I didn’t see evidence of His intervention, I was left to consider two possibilities. Either I didn’t have enough faith, or God wasn’t who He said He was. Neither of those conclusions offered any comfort.

Have you ever been there? Wanting to believe, yet coming up short of witnessing the power Scripture promises faith will bring?

Perhaps like me you wondered if the absence of God’s power meant you didn’t have enough faith. If so, we’re not alone. Even the apostles cried out to Jesus for an increase of faith when He taught about forgiving their brothers.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Like the apostles, we are free to ask Jesus to increase our faith, to help us believe when it’s difficult. But Jesus’ answer to His disciples applies just as surely to us: we only need a tiny mustard seed of faith to see God move.

I don’t believe our problem lies with how much faith we possess. I believe we struggle because we don’t know how to exercise it. We may claim to have faith, but we haven’t learned to trust.

And trusting makes all the difference.

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” Hebrews 10:38

According to Scripture, we can’t simply “have faith” and expect the pleasure of God. Our call to faith must result in action. We don’t possess faith; we live by it.

Hebrews 11:6 adds some crucial information about faith.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Dear one, faith lies at that heart of all of God’s desires for us. It remains the catalyst to encounter every one of God’s blessings. Scripture couldn’t be clearer on this point: it’s impossible to please God without faith.

Another critical point emerges from this verse. Faith is more than believing that God exists. Biblical faith involves approaching Him. We must draw near to Him in belief that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Do you earnestly seek Him, dear one? Do you approach Him? Have you set your heart on seeking His desires?

Somewhere along the way many of us picked up the idea that if we believe enough, God will give us the desires of our hearts.  However, Biblical faith occurs when we choose to trust God for His.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Faith that moves mountains and uproots mulberry trees can only surface in us as we earnestly seek the Lord. As we spend time in His presence, He will begin to align our hearts with His desires. Then He will illuminate the steps we must take to fulfill them.

And then we must choose. Will we trust His way, or will we force our own?

At that moment, all you and I need is a mustard seed of faith—just enough to choose to trust Him, to take one step into His will. The moment that faith becomes action, God’s power unites with our circumstance and ushers us into the realm of grace.

. . . we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:2

Do you want to see God move, beloved? Draw near to Him and seek the desire of His heart. Allow Him to whisper His will into your soul, and then trust Him as He leads you to step into it.

You just might get to see some mountains move.

 

Lessons From My Dog

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“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalm 42:1

Annie at the Beach

My dog adores me. She longs to be wherever I am, so much so that she views separation from me as punishment. The moment she sees me slip on my shoes, she bounds to the door in hopeful expectation that she will accompany me in the car. Very often, she gets her wish and proudly takes her place in the front passenger seat.

But on those occasions when she must remain at the house, a different dog emerges. My joyful, wagging ball of fur deflates before my eyes, pathetically slinking away to a spot on the other side of the kitchen table where I can no longer make eye contact. I know she’s made it to her destination when I hear her collapse to the floor with a forlorn grunt.

I can’t blame her, really. She can’t understand my reasons for withholding permission. She doesn’t know that this particular destination would mean a long wait for her in the car, or that the heat might be too much for her to tolerate. She just knows she didn’t get what she wanted.

By the time I arrive home, however, her joy at my return erases any bad feelings over my departure. Her entire body wags with excitement as she strains to greet me with kisses. Then she resumes her vigil, attentively positioning herself wherever I am in the house.

She will immediately rouse herself from slumber to follow if I leave the room. And if she senses I’m not happy with her behavior, she instantly tries to remedy my displeasure.

She will tentatively approach me, laying her head down in humble submission, begging forgiveness. And of course I grant it, affectionately stroking her head to reassure her of my love. She is, after all, my treasured possession. How could a loving owner not be moved by such blatant devotion?

I often think of how God must respond when His children—each one His own treasured possession—react to His presence that way. How He must delight when we long to be with Him and eagerly rise to follow Him. How joy must fill Him when a wayward child offers Him a sincerely repentant heart. I imagine He smiles with compassionate understanding when we question why He withholds things from us but choose to offer our love anyway in affectionate trust.

“The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Deuteronomy 7:6

Oh, how God delights when our actions reflect adoration. Unfortunately, I believe we more readily tend to imitate my dog’s other prominent behavior.

She loves to accompany me when I swim laps in the pool. Only she doesn’t join me in the water, keeping pace with me. She races along the edge with one clear objective: to beat me to my destination.

She will pause momentarily at one end of the pool, just long enough to gauge where I’m headed. Then she runs to the other side and waits there to greet me. The moment I reach the wall and push off for the next length, she’s off again. Occasionally, she moves so quickly she loses her footing and falls in. After swimming swiftly to the stairs, she climbs out to begin again. Eventually she collapses, exhausted.

Sometimes I wonder why she doesn’t just jump in and join me. She would certainly reach our destination at a far less frantic pace. She might even discover the joy of rest along the way.

Jesus offers the same suggestion to us.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

Jesus desires that we draw near to Him so He can lead us into His Father’s will at a restful, steady pace. Yet He watches many of His dear ones hustle around the outskirts of His progress appearing to participate without ever actually getting their feet wet.

Still others are so eager to please Him that they continually run ahead of Him. They’re so busy trying to guess where He’s going that they miss joining Him where He is. Their frantic scurrying causes them to forfeit what He really desires most: companionship.

Which of my dog’s traits best reflect your relationship with God, dear one? Is your highest priority remaining in His presence? Or do you scurry about Him without ever actually joining Him where He is? Perhaps it’s time to choose the way of rest.