Articles
Living by Faith
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[Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Gen. 15:6)
So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Ex. 4:31)
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The Bible does not teach blind faith. We should be prudent in choosing our path, careful to consider any and all evidence that might bear on our decisions. But there comes a point when all the planning, preparation, and study are exhausted, and absolute certainty is still elusive. We must make a decision on faith, trusting the outcome to God.
Abraham had sufficient reason to trust God with his life. But when God promised him that he--an old man with a childless old wife--would have a son, there was no empirical way of testing that promise. He had to accept it on faith, despite the apparent absurdity of it.
When Israel heard the promise of Moses and Aaron that God would deliver them from their bondage in Egypt, and saw the signs that Moses performed, they believed the message and committed to following Moses' lead. But they were still slaves, and would have to pass through many trials before their dreams were realized. Theirs was a journey of faith.
Jesus sent His apostles out on the limited commission with no resources, relying only on the good will of the people to whom they preached (Mk. 6:8-9). They went out on faith, trusting that Jesus knew what He was talking about.
It's one thing to believe that God exists, the Bible is His word, and that Jesus is Lord and King. But it's quite another thing to rearrange our lives to conform to God's instructions, especially when those instructions violate all the accepted norms of what the world considers a successful life. It's then that we are confronted with the awful choice: Do I believe God or not? The consequences of that decision can be enormous.
Living by faith is not easy. But it becomes easier when we decide to put God first in our hearts. Until we make that commitment, our "faith" is nothing more than empty tokenism--weak, ineffective, and deceptive.
Do your homework, and trust God to do what is best.
--David
