The change happening around me is exhausting. Our church is taking a new name that we believe will be more inviting to people from our region who might be interested in spiritual things. We are exploring new ways of doing ‘church’ that will help people to grow into mature followers of Jesus. The process is demanding change in me. It requires that I serve as a catalyst for change in people who are comfortable in the present. I understand their resistance! I like things to be predictable and familiar, too. Left to myself, I would settle into a rut and do what demanded the least adaptation from me. Why disturb the peace? Why be open to a new way of thinking when the old line has served so well? The short answer? God leads us on into tomorrow! The message of Christ is unchanging, but the methods used to communicate that hope must be adapted to every generation.
The man we call the ‘father of the faithful’ was settled in his family’s city, Ur, when the voice of God brought him a new challenge. “Abram, leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing." (Genesis 12:1-2, The Message) God asks a major thing of this man: Become a wanderer, traveling 600 miles across deserts, and I will do something great for you. There were no pictures of a palace that was waiting for his arrival, no job at the end of the journey. Yet, he responded in faithful obedience. His faith allowed him to own the greatest gift of all: "Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith." (Genesis 15:6, NLT)
Do you have the faith to let God call you from where you are into a place you cannot yet see?
Do you trust Him to lead you from the things you know to things only yet a promise?
For example, it requires real faith to let go of religious acts and to accept the gift of grace He offers. To give up the hope of making yourself good enough for God and believing His declaration of your righteousness, is a big leap of faith. To abandon one’s self to a life of love is an act of faith, too. God says, “love Me and others more deeply than you love yourself.” We know that taking care of ourselves works, but will we let go of our self-love and start the journey of selfless love? Much faith is demanded because we have no idea where such a radical act will allow God to lead us.
Moments will come when we could conclude our faith adventure has been nothing but foolishness. God told Abram that he would become the father of nations and through his descendants all the world would be blessed; then left him without a son until he was 100 years old! Old Abe got nervous and tried to help God fulfill the promise by having a child with Hagar, his wife’s servant. That lapse in faith created nothing but sorrow and pain! Still he hung onto the promise he had received years earlier. The Bible tells us "Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance." (Romans 4:20-5:3, NLT)
What is the Spirit of God whispering into your soul today?
Don’t only listen for the call to exotic destinations or big projects! Perhaps the adventure of faith to which He calls you is about loving your wife more deeply, or about forgiving your father who has abused you for years, or about having the patience to lead your rebellious son through the turbulence of teenage years. Then, again, His call to you might be about letting go of a habit that is both comforting and enslaving so that you will grow into greater holiness. It might be that He wants to re-define the meaning of ‘success in life’ with you, by asking for a major change in your lifestyle. These choices are no less an adventure of faith than selling our home and moving to someplace far away.
Will you believe God? Here’s the Bible’s definition of Faith. Read it prayerfully, asking God to help you to believe and obey today, in order to be where He can use you to meet the challenges He sees coming tomorrow!
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1, NIV) "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment