“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Faith is visualizing the future. It’s believing before you see it. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV). How will you see what’s happening in your life through eyes of faith? A lot of people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it!” God says the exact opposite is true: “You will see it when you first believe it.” There are many things in life that have to be believed before they can be seen. In 1961, the Soviet Union sent the first cosmonaut into space. When the cosmonaut returned to earth, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev declared they’d been to space and didn’t see any god there. About 10 months later, the U.S. sent John Glenn into space. He circled the earth three times on his Mercury mission, came back down, and told the world, “I saw God everywhere! I saw his glory in the galaxy. I saw his splendor in the universe. I saw his majesty in the stars.” Which one was right? They both were. Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NLT). Before there is spiritual transformation in your life, you’re too narrow-minded to see the possibility of what God wants to do in your life. Wernher von Braun, the leading scientist in the early stages of the U.S. space program, said, “There has never been any great accomplishment in history without faith.” It is faith that causes the scientist to believe that we can put a man on the moon. It is faith that causes an architect to design a building because, first, they believe it can be done. It is faith that causes an Olympic athlete to practice and go to the Olympic trials because they believe they can achieve it. It is faith that causes a sculptor or an artist to believe that they can paint a picture or attempt the sculpture. Someone has to believe it before we see it. You can trust God’s promises and his work in your life. Believe in God’s love and care and guidance as you face whatever he has given you today. Believe it, and you will see it.
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“I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish.”
John 11:25-26 (TLB) There are a lot of benefits to believing in Jesus and having a relationship with him. But even if God removed all the other benefits, there would still be this, and it’s a pretty big deal: When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are guaranteed eternal life. Your eternity is sealed because of Jesus’ resurrection. You see, Jesus bringing himself back to life changed everything. It literally split history into A.D. and B.C. It’s the most important event ever. And, it proves three things. First, it proves that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be. He repeatedly said he was the Son of God who came to die for our sins. And he did just that. Jesus’ resurrection is one of the most well documented events in history. It would stand up in any court of law. In fact it has many, many times throughout centuries. The resurrection also proves that Jesus keeps his promises. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to let the people kill him and that he would come back to life. If he kept that promise, then you know you can trust the thousands of other promises God makes in his Word. The third thing the resurrection proves is that there is life after death. If Jesus Christ hadn’t resurrected, you would have no hope for the future. This life on earth would be all there is—and that’s not worth placing your hope in! Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish” (TLB). Where else are you going to get a promise like that? Nowhere! Who else can give that to you? No one! If you don’t get the promise of eternal life from Jesus, then you won’t have it. That is an amazing benefit, and it’s available to you today. What’s the qualification? You only have to believe. “‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
John 6:5-6 (NIV) Do you remember the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish? I think it’s amazing that, out of 5,000 people, it seems only one person brought a lunch. I’m thinking a lot of people were hiding picnic baskets under their robes because they didn’t want to share with anybody else. But one little boy offered the bread and fish he packed for his lunch. He gave Jesus what little he had, and God used it to not just feed a lot of people but also to show them how much he cares and how powerful he is. God always starts with what you have. You may not have much time. Your assets may not be worth much. You may not think you have much talent. But you can give God everything in your life. Give him your heart. Give him your attention. Give him your past, present, and future. Give him your offering. It may not be much, but you can give him your five loaves and two fish. In John 6:5-6 Jesus asks, “‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do” (NIV). Jesus wasn’t worried about how to feed 5,000 people. He already had in mind what he was going to do. He saw the need long before the disciples did—and he had a plan. You need to understand this truth today: God always has the answer before you even know the problem. God is not worried about your unsolvable problem. It’s not too late in the day for Jesus. He saw your problem long before you did. He knew it was coming, and he already had a plan for it. God knows the solution to your problem before you even recognize it’s a problem! So why are you worrying? Just admit you have a problem you can’t solve on your own, and then give God everything you have. Watch him take your loaves and fish and turn them into a feast. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT) Faith is a powerful force. It unlocks the promises of God. It shows us the power of God. It turns dreams into reality. And it gives us the power to hold on in tough times. God doesn’t always take you out of the problem. He stretches your faith by taking you through the problem. He doesn’t always take away the pain. He gives you faith-filled ability to handle the pain. And God doesn’t always take you out of the storm, because he wants you to trust him in the middle of the storm. I remember reading the stories of Corrie ten Boom, a young Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Holocaust before being sent to Nazi concentration camps. After World War II ended, she said that the people who lived through those camps were those who had the deepest faith. Why? Because faith gives you the power to hold on in tough times. It produces persistence. Study after study has shown that probably the most important characteristic you could teach a child (and that you need in your own life) is resilience. It’s the ability to bounce back and keep going. Nobody goes through life with an unbroken chain of successes. Everybody has failures and mistakes. We all embarrass ourselves. We all have pain. We all have problems. We all have pressures. The people who make it in life have resilience. Where do you get the resilience to keep going? Faith. It’s believing God could do something at any moment that could change the direction of your life—and you don’t want to miss it, so you keep moving forward. It’s believing that God will give you exactly what you need when you need it as you learn to rely on him to accomplish his purpose in you. This is the testimony of Paul, a great man of faith: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT). Paul learned resilience through troubles that could have crushed him. His faith helped him to get up when he got knocked down—and your faith can do that for you too. “God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (CEV) Have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn’t? It’s never easy to sit in God’s waiting room, where you’re waiting for something from God. Nothing we do will help the answer to our prayer come one second before God chooses to deliver it. Abraham understood this. God gave him an impossible dream—that he would father a nation. At 75 years old and childless, this seemed crazy. But God’s timing proved to be perfect, just like Solomon would write centuries later: “God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 CEV). We can’t understand everything God is doing, but we can be confident that his timing is perfect. In fact, God always takes you through predictable stages of faith. Abraham went through these same six stages. Understanding them can help you trust God when you’re unsure how he is at work in your life. The Six Stages of Faith
Where are you in these six stages? God will take you through them over and over again in this life as he grows your faith. “Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.’”
Luke 9:62 (MSG) In Mark 10, a huge crowd was following Jesus as he left Jericho. A man named Bartimaeus was blind and begging by the roadside. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47 NIV). When Bartimaeus had gotten up that morning, he had no idea that Jesus Christ was going to pass by him that day. He thought it was just another ordinary day: same place, same cry for help, same situation. But suddenly Jesus was there. Bartimaeus had no time to prepare or think through his response. It was just an opportunity that dropped in his lap. And he chose to seize the moment. He decided not to delay or procrastinate. He was going to do it—now. That’s the first key to a fresh start in your life too: Whatever you’re going to do, do it now. Don’t say, “Next year I’m going to make a fresh start” or “Next month I’m going to make some changes” or “Tomorrow I’m going to make that a priority.” It’s now or never. Seize the moment! Every day, we’re given opportunities for a fresh start, but we don’t take advantage of them. Why? We procrastinate. Procrastination is a strange phenomenon. You think it will make your life easier when it actually does just the opposite. It’s a stress generator! When you know the right thing to do, today is the time to do it. Don’t assume you can wait for tomorrow. The Bible warns over and over about presuming upon tomorrow. I’m not guaranteed a tomorrow, and neither are you. Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day” (Luke 9:62 MSG). You have no guarantee that you will live tomorrow. Whatever you’re going to do, you better do it now. Is Jesus inviting you into a fresh start today? Don’t delay. Follow the example of Bartimaeus and seize the moment. “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) Dreaming plays an essential role in developing your faith and helping you become the kind of person God made you to be. There’s an important connection between dreaming and believing, between your imagination and your growth. Without a dream, you get stuck. But with God-inspired dreams, you have almost limitless possibilities. Your dreams profoundly shape your identity, your happiness, your achievements, and your fulfillment. But God-inspired dreaming offers far more than just these benefits. Dreaming has eternal implications too. Dreaming is always the first step in the process God uses to change your life for the better. Everything starts as a dream! In many ways, a great dream is a statement of faith. You’re saying, “I believe that things can change and can be different, and I believe that God will enable me to accomplish it.” When you trust God, it always makes him happy. The Bible says, “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” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). Dreaming is the step that gets the ball rolling. It is a catalyst for personal change. And it’s those internal changes that God is most concerned about; they prepare you for life with him in eternity. So first, God gives you a dream for your life. Then, you have to make a decision about it. The third stage is delay, where you wait for God to work in his time. The next stage is difficulty, where God tests you. Then, you might reach a dead end, which will make you want to give up. But in the end, God always brings you to deliverance, the final stage of his six phases of faith. God uses a process to grow your faith and develop your character. This faith-building process is illustrated over and over in the lives of people in the Bible. And it will be repeated over and over in your life as God moves you toward spiritual and emotional maturity. You will find no greater fulfillment than when you’re doing what God created you to do. Pursuing God’s dream for your life won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick—but it will be worth it. “It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the king’s anger. Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see.”
Hebrews 11:27 (NCV) There is a strong belief in our culture that if it feels good, do it. That influences every one of us, whether we want it to or not. But when you allow yourself to be manipulated by your moods, you are living your life according to your feelings. But God wants you to live a different kind of life—a life of faith, not just a life of feeling. The truth is, we don’t always feel like doing the right thing. But God can give you the kind of faith that persists above feelings. If you look around, you’ll see that successful people do things they don’t feel like doing. They get tired of going through the motions and want to do things differently. They do the things that other people aren’t willing to do. You can’t be an Olympic athlete unless you spend the extra hours training. You can’t be a master musician unless you spend many hours practicing. The same principle is true for being a mature, godly Christian. If you want to deepen your relationship with God, you have to spend time with him, even when you don’t feel like it. Do you know people who really enjoy their time with God? That’s because they persisted in spending time with God, even when they didn’t feel like it. Faith and persistence go hand in hand. Faith means you don’t give up even when you’re tired. Faith means you just won’t quit. When you’re living in faith, you’re persisting. Moses was a great example of a life lived in faithful persistence. Hebrews 11:27 says, “It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the king’s anger. Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see” (NCV). Moses realized this important truth: You can only accomplish the impossible when you see the invisible. God will give you strength to persevere. He’ll give you the power to keep working on the marriage that seems hopeless. He will give you the power to pick yourself up when you’ve fallen. He can give you the power to keep going when you’re on the edge of bankruptcy. He’ll give you the power to keep your convictions when all the pressure around you says to give in. The key to faith is to be persistent. Keep your eyes on God, not on your problem. God’s power to keep going is always there for you. You just need to ask him for it. “For there is nothing that God cannot do."
Luke 1:37 (GNT) Never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Why? Because nothing is impossible with God. The Bible says, “For there is nothing that God cannot do” (Luke 1:37 GNT). Instead of being intimidated by a seemingly impossible situation, let it motivate you—to pray more, believe more, trust more, wait more, expect more, and depend on God more. It doesn’t matter how impossible a situation may seem; you can be certain that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6 NIV). What God starts in your life, he will finish. Hudson Taylor, a missionary from the 1800s, said this about God doing the impossible in our lives: “There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” But Satan doesn’t want you to believe that nothing is impossible with God. He’ll tell you over and over, “Who do you think you are? You can’t do that. What makes you think you can be a man or woman of God?” When you believe and trust God for the impossible in your life, it’s an embarrassment for the Devil. Maybe you’re in what looks like an impossible situation right now. Look to God and rely on his promises, and watch your situation move from impossible to possible—and then to done. “Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit."
1 Timothy 4:7 (TLB) If you want God to use you—fortify your faith. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:7, “Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit” (TLB). Do you ever wake up thinking, “I get to exercise today?” We all need both physical and spiritual exercise. Do you want the most benefit you can get out of every minute you exercise, whether it’s physical or spiritual? Here's a way to get the most out of your spiritual exercise by giving you four spiritual habits that will fortify your faith. 1. Study the Bible. You need to study the Bible personally. You can’t depend on someone else’s study of the Bible to fortify your faith. You have to do it yourself. The Bible says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT). God’s Word is the “Get Ready” manual for life. If you want to get ready to be used by God, you’ve got to study the Bible. 2. Read Christian books. Proverbs 19:8 says, “Do yourself a favor and learn all you can” (GNT). You learn a lot more when you read books that help you grow spiritually. 3. Write out your testimony. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have” (NCV). Just like nobody else can study for you, nobody else can tell your story. There are four parts to a testimony: what your life was like before you came to Christ, how you realized you needed Christ in your life, how you committed your life to Christ, and what your life is like now. 4. Join a small group. The Bible says, “Encourage each other and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT). When it comes to fortifying your faith, few things can compare to regular contact with your small group. If you are not in a small group, find people who you can share life with and who will support you as you grow in faith. These four habits will help you stay spiritually fit so that you’re ready to be used by God. Which one will you start practicing today? |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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