ICS Daily Devotions
Take Action by Faith!
Hebrews 11:32-34 (NKJV) And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
The above Bible characters of the Old Testament did not live to witness the coming of the Messiah and all that He did to restore mankind to Himself. Yet they persevered and believed in God’s promise. They went through persecution, trials and tribulations and held on to the conviction without being moved by their natural circumstances. They lived a lifestyle of faith. And it is this lifestyle that God wants us to have because the righteous shall live by faith established on the Word of God.
There is always a process when we step out in faith. It is not going to be easy, but we are assured that God’s grace is sufficient for us. It is through faith that each Bible character had to act on God’s instructions and subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness and obtained promises.
The Lord “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Gideon in the Old Testament had to look at himself as a mighty man of valor though he did not feel like one. He had the faith in God to come against the multitude of Midianites with only 300 unarmed men, each with just a pitcher, a trumpet and a torch! Gideon had to believe that the simple acts of breaking the pitcher and shouting out from different corners of the enemy camp, “the sword of Gideon and the Lord” were good enough to cause the enemy to flee in terror.
While we have faith in what God has spoken to us, there must be a corresponding action to step out and believe what He has spoken to us. What God has spoken to us is the title deed, the anchor and the substance to our faith!
Similarly, the Bible records for us that Jephthah spoke to the Lord at Mizpah and when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he acted and went out conquering. Jephthah knew that there would be no victory apart from the Lord and therefore, he took time to speak to the Lord at Mizpah. Have you taken time to speak to the Lord about your situation? What is He saying to you? If you have not spoken to Him and sought His wisdom, then you are still acting on your own!
Our fight of faith probably will not be a physical battle. However, we need to walk in faith and patience to inherit the promises of God for our lives to overcome our battles. We can take comfort that we have the full counsel of the Word of God and the help of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s hand is on our lives where He will make use of the experiences that we had in the past to glorify His name now and in the future.
Just as the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah to carry out the task given to him, there is also an anointing upon each of our lives to stand in this position if we view work as a form of worship to God. As we step out in action by faith, God’s wisdom and strength will be upon us.
Sermon Series: You Are in the Hall of Faith (Part 2)
