A Stance of Faith
The Bible is filled with stories of people who had great faith. It was David’s faith that gave him the guts to stand before a giant with only a slingshot and some stones. (He won, by the way!) It was Peter’s faith that prompted him to ask Jesus to call Him out of the boat to walk on the stormy seas. (He got wet, but He did it!) It was Daniel’s faith that compelled him to keep on praying even though there would likely be dire circumstances. (He ended up in a den of hungry lions, but God was with him and he survived without a single scratch!)
They showed some pretty audacious faith! Their faith was grounded in their belief in God, believing all that He promised. Their faith was solid-where the rubber meets the road-kind of faith. It saturated every aspect of their lives. They couldn’t help themselves! It was active! Their faith oozed out of them no matter what circumstances they faced. Their faith remained strong because it was based on the faithfulness of God.
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Faith is having complete trust. It is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). It is true faith that remains when circumstances all around us scream that there is no hope. In fact, it is in these severe circumstances, when there seems no way out, that faith grows.
Faith is not just something we bring out on Sundays or in times of crisis. No, true faith believes God all the time, in every part of our lives. It trusts in the promises that God has made and anchors our hearts to them. It thanks God in advance for all He will provide. It counts on God being faithful to do what He has said He will do!
I think of the story of Abraham and Isaac when God tested Abraham’s faith (Genesis 22). Abraham believed that God would provide! He told the others that he and Isaac would worship and that they both would return. He stood steadfast on God’s promise that through Isaac God’s covenant would be established.
In faith, Abraham believed God. He didn’t wait to see the lamb in the thicket before He laid the wood or his precious son on the altar. This was a dire situation, painful and confusing, but he chose to obey God.
I think of this as Abraham’s “Red Sea moment.” He needed to step in and get his feet wet before the waters parted and the path was revealed. Abraham obeyed and God provided.
We all have “Red Sea moments”–situations where we feel there is no hope or solution. Although we see no way out, we must trust that God is with us and for us. We must stand firmly on His promises and claim them to be true. Our faith must compel us to action. We must believe that nothing is too difficult for Him (Luke 1:37). We must believe that we will see the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 27:13), and that against all hope…in hope believe (Romans 4:18).
