Walk By Faith (as sung by Jeremy Camp)
“For we live by faith, not by sight” 2 Cor 5:7 (NIV)
“That’s why we
live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our
feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the
spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that
keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are
going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile
for homecoming.” 2 Cor 5:6-8 (The Message)
Faith: Belief
in what is not seen
Belief: The
trust, faith or confidence in someone or something
Trust: The
belief or faith in the reliability of someone or something
All three words connect together as the Holy Trinity does.
You cannot fully embrace one without the others. I imagine myself in a trust
fall with our Lord behind me. My heart skips/jumps at the thought. I can’t
fully trust Him without having faith in His existence behind me and believe
that He is strong enough to catch me.
Let’s explore these three words through the song “Walk by
Faith” and through scripture. The song is short but full of meaning. A single
line can produce a myriad of emotions, interpretations, actions and insight
into what can sometimes be daunting or confusing scripture.
“Would I believe You when You would say, Your hand will
guide my every way?” - In order to fully embrace the belief in what God has
planned for you (Jer 29:11,) you must fully embrace faith in His plan and trust
in His reasoning. As He declared, He will
undoubtedly guide you and never leave your side until He has fulfilled all that
He has promised you (Gen 28:15.)
“I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.” Let those
words sink in, close your eyes and imagine this: A dark tunnel, no light in
sight, no path defined or one that can be seen, no knowledge of the
dangers/pain/sorrows ahead, and no end near. The Almighty asks you to have
faith to trust him and believe in His promises to you, to take a step and start
walking into that seemingly infinite darkness. Really think about it - all of
your fears, all of the unknowns that are in this tunnel. What’s on the other
side? Is it good? Do you take a step or do you hesitate and doubt?
> Let’s take in this example of doubt: (Ref: Matthew 14:24-31) When Peter boldly asked Jesus to call him to His side, Peter did not hesitate when it came to jumping out of the boat and walking on the rough seas to where Jesus stood but his sudden faint heartedness led him to doubt and lose faith when he looked down at the rolling waves beneath him and he cried out to Jesus for help. Instead of trusting Jesus as he stood alongside Him, Peter doubted and sank.
> Let’s take in this example of doubt: (Ref: Matthew 14:24-31) When Peter boldly asked Jesus to call him to His side, Peter did not hesitate when it came to jumping out of the boat and walking on the rough seas to where Jesus stood but his sudden faint heartedness led him to doubt and lose faith when he looked down at the rolling waves beneath him and he cried out to Jesus for help. Instead of trusting Jesus as he stood alongside Him, Peter doubted and sank.
“Because this
broken road prepares Your will for me” God didn't promise that this path
would be easy. There will most definitely be trails, sorrow, pain…all lessons
to be learned and tests to your faith, belief and trust in God – all a part of
His plan for you. The question remains: Are you going to take that step into
the dark tunnel?
“Do you suppose a few
ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us?” (2 Cor 5:8 – The Message)
Could the road deemed broken be as it is here? Filled with ruts and rocks? Are
you going to let them stand in the way of you and God?
“Help me to rid my
endless fears” There are a plethora of verses on fear. Let’s sum them all up with this: With God,
whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27) Easier said than done, right? Fears are what
drive us…it’s in our nature as humans, especially when we are given tasks we
deem to be too big, the fear of failure sets in. Take for example:
“You've been so
faithful for all my years, with one breath You make me new. Your grace covers
all I do”
“You've spoken –
pouring Your words of grace”
Not much else needs to be said about these lines. He is
faithful, loving, amazing! Jesus, our Savior, saved us…making us NEW! How
amazing is that? His grace – oh, that word - grace!! It’s full of warmth, hope, love. It doesn't matter
what I have done or what I will become, His grace covers all. What a gift,
right?!
“Will I receive the
words You say every moment of everyday?” This is my prayer for you and for me.
God did instruct Joshua to meditate on the word day and night as he went forth
with the task he was given by God. (Joshua 1:1-9) We, as children of the One
true King, should meditate on His amazing word day in and day out as we head
into this dark tunnel on a journey of faith, with Him. Prayer should be
constant and shouldn't end at ‘amen.’ It should be ever going, never ceasing.
It should be a constant intimate conversation as we go about our day. That’s
when we receive the word fully; when we fully receive our God and Savior into
every moment of our day.
I encourage each of you, myself included, to dig in and
fully embrace faith, belief and trust as we either start or continue our
journeys with our most Holy Father. Start that conversation that never ends,
talk to Him throughout your day, and meditate on His word. Thank Him for His love
and for the grace that we don’t have to earn. Find what fears are butting in
between you and His plan for you and pray on those. Strength! Courage! Don’t be
timid for He will never leave you. So, Go! Walk with faith, in faith and by
faith!
Blessings,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do not be anxious
about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
You hear a lot about how to build and strengthen your faith
in God. But what about God’s faithfulness to you? He is your protector – He
made you with care and love, molding each of your features into His perfect
creation, and He wants to look after you. Do you have children? Or someone you
care about very much? Can you imagine sending them into a place you know is
full of sin and danger, knowing they
would die there? That’s what God did for us. His perfect creations had been
swallowed by sin, and instead of wiping us from the face of the Earth, He wiped
our slate clean, giving us the chance
to start anew. God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ (2
Corinthians 5:19).
If you take this chance He has given you, you are walking by
faith – not by sight. We read of the power God instilled within Moses to act
out His will (Numbers 20:10-11). We read of Jesus’s miracles, the one’s He
performed in front of the apostles, in front of their very eyes. While miracles
undoubtedly occur today, they are from above and they happen to those with faith. Read through the Gospel – Jesus
performed miracles on those who demonstrated faith in Him; He spurned those
that doubted. (Matthew 9:2, 9:22, 9:29, 13:58, 15:28). Faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain ~ Matthew 17:20
Passages that always humble me are the stories of Abraham
and Sarah. What faith, what devotion! They so fully trusted God (though not
always at first – still human!) that they were willing to make intense
sacrifices – Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son at God’s command and
he lived his life on a path defined by his confidence and trust in God, even
when he could not see Him in front of him.
Faith is the
confidence in what we hope for, and assurance in what we cannot see ~ Hebrews
11:1
Some of the biggest stumbling blocks in accepting salvation
are your doubts. And these doubts won’t necessarily disappear when you accept
Jesus as your Savior, when you are washed in the water. For a year after I was
baptized, I prayed unceasingly for God to cast the doubts from my mind. That
seems a little confusing, doesn’t it? I was praying to the One I had doubts
about. Needless to say, I don’t pray that prayer anymore. God showed Himself to
me, answering my prayers, working in my life because I let Him. That may be a
struggle that you have as a new believer, or perhaps you don’t feel like your
life has changed. Ask yourself what you have done to change your life? Taking
the step of accepting Jesus as your Savior is amazing, but it’s a two-sided
relationship. God loves you, but wants to be loved. He is a jealous god – He
despises idols – including the treasures of this world that you cling to and
that keep you from Him.
Action step: Make
a list of things in your life that are keeping you from God. Are they
possessions, people, bad habits? Pray over this list over the next few days –
how can you change your life to include God more?
Maybe you aren’t a new believer, you feel you have been
living a good Christian life, and bad things keep happening to you. You begin
to doubt God. How could He let these things happen to you? Is He ignoring you?
Does He not love you anymore, are you just not good enough? When something bad
(even terrible) happens to us and we cannot understand it, Satan plants a seed
in our mind that casts doubt on our faith in God’s love for us. But things do not happen haphazardly to a
Christian. Trust in Him and be like Jesus. God works through our trials to
help us grow spiritually (James 1:1-13). Every heartbreak that touches you
passed through God’s hands. He has a purpose for your life – that’s right,
you specifically (Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 1:11-12). God often works through
people – believers and unbelievers alike – remember Pharaoh? (Proverbs 16:15).
One of the best ways to grow in your faith is to focus on
your relationship with God. Just as you would get to know a new friend, get to
know Him. He satisfies (Psalm 107:9), He pursues you (Luke 19:10), He pardons
transgressions (Psalm 103:3), He is loving kindness (Psalm 86:15), He is
gracious (Eph 1:7-8), and He is sovereign (Psalm 103:19). His grace and forgiveness will cover all that you do.
Action step: Will I receive the words You say, every
moment of every day? Spend time with God each day through prayer, devotion,
and time in His Word. You will get to know the God that loves you, and you will
begin to trust Him. Set aside time in your schedule, just as you make time to
go to the gym, to get homework done, to cook for your family. Try keeping a
prayer journal, reading a devotions book, or following a Bible reading guide.
I encourage you to pray, always to pray. God is your best
friend, He knows your heart and He is knocking at your door. Ask yourself –
What is God doing in your life right now? Did you lose someone you love dearly?
Is there a difficult person at your workplace? Does it seem like nothing is
going right? What is God doing in your life through that situation?
Remember, He has a purpose for you – His beloved creation.
And remember, to sing is to pray twice.
In Christ,
