Walking by Faith
"Walking by Faith" by Steven Little
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What does it mean to walk by faith? The Bible tells us four times that the Christian “shall walk by faith” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38). But why must we walk by faith? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for all who come to Him must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of all who seek Him.” When we left our comfortable abodes in Lexington, we were confident that God was calling us to Huntington. We’d spent 40 days in a spirit of fasting and prayer, seeking God, and He was faithful to confirm His call over and over. Of course, we anticipated struggle, we expected challenges - there’s never advancement without resistance. But as we’ve seen, God would construct divine obstacles to the fulfillment of His promise so that WHEN God fulfills His promise, He gets more glory and grows our faith in Him. Delays at the bank, closings pushed back, extra storage rentals, another U-haul, flooding in the basement, water heater bursts, backhoes for new sewer lines, remodels and asbestos, issues with the insurance, handyman no-shows, waiting on a job, financial crunches, extra bills, what to do with the kids - just to name a few “obstacles.” And you start to wonder: “Did God really say…?” Doubt begins to rise and you start questioning yourself, “Why did I ever come here?” Abraham, the father of faith, was called by God to leave behind all that he was comfortable with to follow God’s call to a place where God would show him - after he got there - to be a blessing to all the nations (Gen 12:1-6). God promised to give Abraham descendants that would outnumber the stars, that God would make him prosperous, and that God would give him the land of Canaan. But every time Abraham stepped out in faith, he encountered obstacles. How was he to have descendants that would rival the stars if his wife was barren and they were both beyond child bearing years? How could God make him prosperous when there was a famine in the land? And how in the world is he supposed to inherit Canaan when it’s filled with Canaanites? There seems to be an obstacle at every turn! But, as it turns out, God likes to stretch our faith beyond what we know about Him by these kinds of obstacles so that on the other side, He might get more glory and grow our faith in Him. The story goes on, filled with ups and downs, 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. And so God comes again to Abraham in Genesis 15 to remind him of His promises, amidst all the obstacles, and verse 6 tells us that “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.” Right when it looked impossible for God’s promises to come through, Abraham still believed God, he continued to walk by faith, and it pleased God. For, “is anything too difficult for the LORD?” God asks us (Gen 18:14). Abraham’s journey of faith was filled with obstacles, filled with ups and downs. But through him we learn that faith’s only response is obedience: believe God. We see that there’s nothing more important to God than our faith - “more valuable than gold” (1 Peter 1:7). Walking by faith, Abraham made a huge gamble, took gigantic risks, based only on God’s promises. And guess what…. God always came through. We see the same example in the New Testament when God calls Paul to proclaim the Gospel in Rome (Acts 23:11). And then, right after God called him, we see Paul persecuted, beaten, abandoned, shipwrecked, bitten by snakes, and we think: “Why all these obstacles? Didn’t God tell him to go to Rome?” Yes! And that’s why there’s obstacles! God constructs divine obstacles to the fulfillment of His promise so that WHEN God fulfills His promise, He gets more glory and grows our faith in Him. It’s all about God, and it’s all about our faith in Him. There’s a big difference between believing IN God and believing God; but “the just shall walk by faith”, and “without faith it is impossible to please God, for those who come to Him must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of all who seek Him.” If you ever doubt, if the obstacles make you wonder, then look to the example of Abraham, look to Paul’s example; but most importantly, look to Christ, and believe. “He who spared not His only Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Do you believe Him?
