11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: 11:33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. 11:35 Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 11:36 and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 11:37 they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth. 11:39 And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise, 11:40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Our faith is rarely comfortable... God will require us, from time to time, to take steps that are unnatural to us because it is through the pain, the molding, the breaking of our self and our conceptions, the breaking of the confidence in ourselves and the replacement of a confidence in Jesus only, that we actually grow into useable vessels, fit for the Master's use.
The Bible says that to each of us is allotted a measure of faith for all of life's challenges... see, here's what people don’t get, and I’m finally learning. God has already given us, or provided for us, all of the faith we'll need for any of life's challenges or for any step of faith that the Lord calls us to. Its our choice whether or not we make that faith ACTIVE by stepping out in obedience to the Master when He beckons, even when things to the material eye look frightful. All too often we're too scared of drowning in the turbulent sea of life that rages all around us, too bound to our "boat", our safety net... be that our job, our family, our career, our home, our kids... and instead, Jesus is beckoning us to Him so that we can do the impossible... so that we can walk on the water (or achieve His will supernaturally) in the MIDST of that raging storm of life all round us... we defy the world's notions of what can and can't be, what is and what isn't, and what's possible and what isn't, because we have an all-powerful indomitable God calling us out and promising to make it work. THAT'S where our faith becomes active... it's being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and it's knowing who Jesus is and trusting that He "wont' let your foot dash against a stone, but will send His angels to take charge over you". When we act, respond, or speak with faith, we're doing more than saying "I believe in God"; we're honoring Him by our actions which show that we believe more in the God of the supernatural than the "truth" of the material world around us. When you honor God in that fashion, He'll open up incredible doors of blessing. Reread the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. 11:17 By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten `son'; 11:18 even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: 11:19 accounting that God `is' able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back. Isaac WAS the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, yet God told Abraham to kill his son. KNOWING that God promised that the blessing would come through Isaac, Abraham was STILL willing to sacrifice his son, knowing that the God he served was big enough to keep good on His promise no matter what the odds... and when Abraham acted in faith, God was honored and blessed Abraham even more than he had been promised before. Additionally, God provided supernaturally the sacrifice so that Abraham didn't have to kill his son. Again, active faith… 2:23 and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. James says that "Abraham BELIEVED (or trusted / rested) in God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God". That's what my epitaph should read, and yours too. Scripture says, "He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask, hope, or imagine". If God can do MORE than I can imagine, then I'm gonna imagine BIG and see what He'll do. His plans are always bigger than ours... we're too often the roadblock that stops Him. Understand too, that growth on a big level, spiritually, will require hard things like dying to your dreams and desires, dying to your life's expectations... it means risking complete failure in your material life because you've thrown yourself so completely at God that He alone is your only hope. It requires breaking and remolding, changing how you think, learning that we exist to be inconvenienced, put off, disappointed, frustrated and challenged for the good of the gospel and so that through our willingness to be sacrificed, someone else can have the hope of an eternity with Jesus Christ. It means painful breaking of long-held goals, dreams, aspirations hopes, and other things held tightly to our breast, and requires that everything we want or desire in life be held out to the Master with open hands, freely offering it to Him if it isn't in His good pleasure for us to have. Our lives are meant to have eternal significance... we're here for more than the temporal pleasures that this world offers... we're here to affect the eternal destinies of countless people, to see Jesus lifted up and glorified in their lives, and to know the all-surpassing greatness of His love for us as we walk arm in arm through this life with the King of Kings. What an honor and what a privilege. In light of someone else's eternal future, is there really anything more important than their salvation? Understand that God has plans to use you, and start praying for the growth necessary to be ready for His timing. He simply requires us to be obedient and to be willing to be daily broken and submissive... it is HIS anointing that brings the success and the victory, for "God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise", taking pleasure in using the most unqualified of people to produce the biggest harvests. |
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