Dear readers, let’s be practical and keep things simple.
We need to get back to basics with our faith. The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6.) In other words when we demonstrate our faith in Christ Jesus and His gospel; it pleases the Lord.
James 2:18 goes even further to say that we ought to show our faith by our deeds.
Do not get me wrong, Christianity and salvation is not by works.
Your good deeds and works cannot get you into heaven however your deeds, your actions demonstrate your level of faith.
Just like Abraham acted on the instruction of the Lord and put his only promised and beloved son on the altar of God as a sacrifice; willing to give the child back to the Lord. Abraham could have said “Yes Lord I believe or Yes Lord, I know you alone are able, Yes Lord, I trust you will do what is best for us.”
He could have said these things and hoped in his heart all day but would not have had the breakthrough he needed that way.
His words did not bring his breakthrough but rather his act of faith did. The demonstration of his faith became evident by what he did in obedience.
Sometimes we have to make a move, sometimes we need to take a stand, at times our lifestyle and how we live will show off the level of faith we have in God.
How are we demonstrating our faith?
What has the Lord pressed on your heart to do?
Has He asked you to give up something that you hold dear to?
Has He asked you to bless someone else with the items you just purchased for yourself?
There is a nice gospel song that says: “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus”.
When the Lord is asking us to take a leap of faith we need to trust and obey.
Your faith needs to be based on a hope for what we do not yet know but that we can trust God for.
That hope that God is for us and not against us.
That hope that God will provide.
That hope that God is faithful.
This hope will fuel our obedience in Christ.
Proverbs 3:5 instructs us to Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. We may not always know how God will come through but if we are praying and we have faith we can trust and obey without fully understanding.
If Abraham had compromised his faith and trust in Yahweh by bringing a servant boy to be sacrificed, he would not have pleased God. Had he brought an actual lamb to sacrifice it would not have pleased God.
Abraham’s act of readiness to sacrifice his long-awaited promised son who he loved dearly to the altar of God was made possible because he trusted God’s character. The process of obeying this daunting task was breaking him inside but he humbled himself before the Lord to obey despite not knowing all the details of God’s salvation plan for them.
Oh, dear readers, I pray for you all, that we can learn to trust our Heavenly Father, in this way in order to demonstrate our faith.
No matter where you are, whether at work, at school, on the road or even in your home… trust and obey!
