Achievement Faith
ICS Daily Devotions
Hebrews 11:7-8 (NKJV) By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
All people are God’s workmanship, uniquely made with specific gifts and talents. Abraham, Noah, King David, Esther, Naomi, Daniel, and Joseph in the Old Testament each had their calling and role at different times in history. Likewise, we have different callings, roles, gifts, talents, and life experiences to fulfil God’s purpose on earth.
No callings and roles that God gave them were easy, and each of them needed to respond to God’s calling by faith, even if it seemed silly to others. For example, Noah built an ark far away from the sea; Abraham didn’t know where he was going, yet he responded in faith and obedience to leave the land of Ur. Both Abraham and Noah achieved something for God despite not fully comprehending why God wanted them to build an ark or go to an unknown place. That is achievement faith.
All that God needed was faith and obedience. Both Noah and Abraham had specific callings and instructions from God. Building a ship in the middle of a vast land mass wasn’t just a good idea or an ego trip for Noah to prove a point to others, but a specific instruction from God with the details given to him for the ark. Similarly, Abraham was told to leave without knowing where he was going, but he knew God would bless him and make him great. Both had specific callings but weren’t given a complete picture of how they would happen. They acted by faith in starting to build the Ark and leaving the land of Ur. Noah and Abraham were able to take God at His Word because they knew it was a word of unrivalled authority, immense power, and complete reliability.
Both Abraham and Noah knew God and walked with God. God’s instruction gave substance to their faith even though they didn’t understand how it could ever come to pass. As far as they were concerned, it was sufficient that God had given them the instructions. The word and the calling were the anchors of their faith.
Likewise, we need to take God’s Word of the covenant, which is the Bible, as His assurance to us. It will help us to anchor our faith and give substance to it once God has instructed us. Faith is taking God’s instruction, leading, and calling without seeing anything ahead of us; it means a Word from God will settle and anchor our trust in Him.
Sermon Series: Growing Your Faith in God
