Walking in Faith!

 

Before a baby can stand and take its first steps, there are false starts, a bit of shakiness, and a hint of doubt in the baby’s mind that they can actually put one foot in front of the other. It’s uncharted territory for them, and some take longer than others to get the coordination down pat. It’s a bit like us when the desires of our hearts seem to exceed our current level of know-how to make them a reality. We know the blessing is available because God’s Word tells us so. We also know that we must have faith in God to bring this desire to pass, but we’ve had our fair share of false starts in life. Our believing is shaky, and we’re not standing strong enough to see the path and walk in it with a fully persuaded faith.

2Corinthians 5:7 says that we must walk by faith and not by sight. What does this mean exactly? Well, most of us have made a habit of only believing what our eyes can see. If we don’t perceive it with our physical sight, most of us will not rely on it. We won’t put any stock in what we can’t see. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ and follow him, he commands us to make a definitive shift. When we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, God’s Spirit comes to live inside us. Christ must have a place of total lordship over our lives. We can no longer depend solely on the physical reality in the way we did before we accepted Christ. God is our Source, and once we understand this and live in Christ, we must go higher spiritually by believing in God and trusting in Him for everything.

None of us have ever seen God, but Jesus Christ declared in John 14:9(NLT), “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” We were not living during the time that Jesus Christ walked the earth, but we have God’s Word, the Bible, and Jesus Christ is the subject from Genesis to Revelation. To have faith is to believe that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to rescue us from a life of sin and darkness. Christ gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins, but he did not remain in the grave. God raised him from the dead and followers of Christ must trust in God’s resurrection power, and that through Christ we are saved.

We know the depth of God’s love because He gave the life of His precious Son to save us. The degree to which you and I must believe and trust this truth is more important than we can fathom. We are God’s children. Romans 8:16(NLT) says that when we become born-again in Christ, God’s Holy Spirit “joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

God is love! He is all-powerful, holy, and magnificent. As His children, we carry His seed, the Holy Spirit. We’re not to sit around in life with our hands tucked beneath our laps. No. We’ve got work to do. We’re to carry out the mission of Christ and represent him in the earth. 2Corinthians 5:20(NLT) declares, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” We have God’s light, and He allows us to live and operate with the authority and power of Christ!

Hebrews 11:1(NLT) tells us, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Faith is the title deed to what we pray for even before it manifests in the natural. Faith demands us to believe in what our physical eyes cannot see.  Hebrews 11:6(NLT) says “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”  Our Heavenly Father is the ultimate Rewarder. Often, we look to the world for rewards. We think our jobs, relationships, or bank accounts are the source of our provision, but God demands that we see with greater spiritual vision than that. He is the Rewarder!!! It is only because of His blessings of mercy, grace, provision, and protection that we are where we are in life. He’s the One that made everything possible, and we must never allow satan to blind us to this truth.

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 7:11(NLT), “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” We must respond to the goodness of God by walking in faith according to what Christ is teaching us in this verse. God is our everything, and diligence requires that our behavior and actions must line up to signify that we trust in who God is.

If you are a parent, imagine how you would feel if your child said, “I don’t trust you.” It would hurt, especially if you’re providing for your children every day. We must not treat God this way. He’s done too much to show us how much He loves us. Our only acceptable response to the goodness of God is to walk in faith every moment of our lives. This is how we show our gratitude for all He has done, and it’s how we please Him and remain under the covering of His provision, protection, and care. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Walking in Faith!”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.