Genesis 36-38
Matthew 10:21-42
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17
Hebrews 11 is the famous chapter often referred to as “The Hall of Faith,” In that chapter alone, the word “faith” appears about 25 times in the Greek. The Greek word for “faith” is pistis, which means “faith, faithfulness, belief, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “faith” is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Faith in itself is of no value unless it is placed in something or someone for the purpose of allowing that something or someone to act on our behalf. In other words, our faith is only as valuable as the object we place it in.
For example, we can put a lot of faith in thin ice and trust that the thin ice is strong enough to hold us up when we stand on it. But the reality is, when we step on the thin ice, we will fall through. Why? Because the thin ice is weak and cannot support our weight. Even if we had all the faith in the world, the thin ice would not hold us up. Another example is we put a little bit of faith on thick ice and step on it. The thick ice is able to hold up our weight. Why? Was it because we had more faith? No, it was because the thick ice is sturdy and our little faith allowed us to take a step onto it. Whether we had great faith or little faith the thick ice would have been able to hold us up. But we needed some faith that would propel us to act.
Similarly, in our relationship with God, the trust that we have in Him is a disposition that says, “God, You are present, active and totally capable in my life, in my situation, in my circumstances. I am going to trust You.” We may think that this sounds passive, but it is most definitely not. In Romans 1:5, Paul speaks of the obedience that comes from faith: “Through Him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His name’s sake.” Did we notice an order? The obedience comes from the faith; because we trust Him, part of our trusting in Him is that we obey what He instructs us to do.
When we allow God to be God and trust Him to be God, we act in obedience. As we step out in faith, we experience Him working. In what area in our life is God asking us to walk in faith?
PRAYER: Dear God, in my situation, in my circumstances, in my life, I trust You. Help me to walk obediently in You. Thank You, Lord.
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