40 Days of Faith
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6
There are times in life where we do enough on certain projects or jobs to just get by. The full amount of energy, thought, or imagination is replaced by a weak and half-hearted effort. The job gets done, but it is most definitely not to our full potential. This may work in the physical realm of day to day life, but it will never work in the spiritual realm.
We are told that in order to walk with God as Enoch did and please God day to day we must have faith. Without our faith being a full reliance on God, pleasing Him is impossible. So what is it that we really need to have faith in and about? We are given two things from this passage that our faith must be grounded upon. First, we must believe that He is. Okay, that's easy. What's next? Not so fast! What does it mean that He is? Does it simply mean that we believe that God exists? Surely not, because the Bible tells us that Satan and his demons believe in God and are in fear of Him. I don't think any one would consider them converts for Christ. Believing that "God is" means believing that He is God now, always has been, and always will be. It is believing that there is no life apart from Him. It is believing that His Son, Jesus Christ, is the way, the truth, and the life and that no man can come to God except they come through Him. For many this is a very narrow view of God, but it is that narrow path that we must follow. When Moses asked God who he should say had sent him to be the deliverer of the children of Israel, God said to tell them that I AM sent him. When the author of Hebrews, writing to Hebrews, said that they must believe God is, the words spoken to Moses all of those years ago rang in their ears.
Secondly, we must believe that God keeps His Word. We are told that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God cannot lie, and His promise of hope, life, joy, and peace will be kept. There is nothing in His Word that is not true no matter what the skeptics may think. Every character that is listed in this great chapter of faith in Hebrews 11 came to the point that they completely took God at His Word. Many today want to believe in God but at the same time doubt that what He says to us through His Word is true. Faith is convinced that God keeps His Word and His promises no matter how difficult it may be for us to reason or fathom. These that are convinced by faith will take "risks" for the cause of Christ and step outside of their comfort zone, because they know that God will be there to fulfill His promises to them. What greater promise do we have than if we believe God and take Him at His word then all things will be fulfilled for His glory?
May you believe that He is today!
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