2 Corinthians 5:7. For we walk by faith, not by sight:
Chuh! Another cloudy, damp day! Why can’t the sun shine better than it’s been doing recently eh? And one know-it-all shouts out: ‘Because that’s the way the Lord designed it brother!’ Awright, awright, I know that. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it. And the brother went on to explain. ‘Remember, you can’t appreciate the sunshine without the rain; you can’t appreciate good without bad; you can’t appreciate Jesus without Satan.
The Lord sent the light of Jesus to douse the darkness of Satan, so that we could have perpetual spiritual light, despite the outward physical lack of sunshine. And in fact, the light of Jesus permeates ALL darkness, so even when it’s dark outside, you still see light, Jesus’ light, shining through everything around you. Glory be my brother! Give thanks for the Light of Jesus!’
Okay, okay! I’ve been told! (smile) So let me get on with my Saturday job; that of putting the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week into some form of biblical thinking. And I do need the light of Jesus, to clearly see what I am doing, (smile) and His awesome help to guide my thinking.
And the first quote advises: ‘Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.’ Now that’s very true. The first step is always the most important one! Even if you see the whole staircase, you can never make it to the top until you take that first step. And in living for Jesus that first step is ever so important, because it means surrendering your life, your will, your desires to an unknown entity.
Giving up control of anything is difficult, especially if you don’t know, or can’t foresee what lies ahead. That’s why it’s often so hard for some people to come to Jesus, because He expects you to show some faith from the very beginning. And what is faith you ask? Simply put “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.” (Heb 11:1) ‘With faith, you don’t have to see something to know it’s real.’ It all calls for belief and trust. As the Good Book expounds: ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight:’ (2 Cor. 5:7)
That means: ‘We must believe in the things we do not see. This is the test of true faith, and we will be rewarded in heaven.’ And the opening portion of an article on the subject on the womansday.com website wraps up that quote very nicely. ‘Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something, and when it comes to religion, faith is one of the cornerstones of your personal relationship with your spirituality.’
That segues right into the next quote: ‘Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.’ There again, it all revolves around faith, trust and surrender. As Jesus said: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt. 21:22) So, you must believe! And you can only believe, if you have faith! ‘God will grant you what you ask for in prayer. Once you will believe, he will.’
And Jesus was even more explicit when He told the disciples: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ (John 15:7) That means we need to keep Jesus’ words in our hearts and live them out in our lives if we expect to see His goodness, expect Him to answer our prayers. And please note that He wasn’t talking about any foolish or self-serving prayers there, but prayers that meet the requirements of His awesome word.
That brings us to this quote: ‘You manifest what you believe, not what you want.’ Now that’s somewhat confusing, because I think it’s possible to manifest what you believe as well as what you want. Generally speaking, what we believe will show out of us, but then it is also possible to hide our real beliefs and show what we want to show. And I think that Jesus’ words, re the Pharisees dispute over the disciples eating with unwashed hands, highlights that dilemma. The Pharisees pretended to believe one thing, but their outward actions usually showed something different.
That’s why Jesus told the disciples: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt. 15:11) And later on, when they didn’t seem to understand His words, He explained. ‘Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out (eliminated) into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders and adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt. 15:17-20)
Yes friends, ordinarily, we like to think that people manifest what they believe, like Christianity for instance. But then again, too many supposed Christians don’t manifest, or show their Christian beliefs in their outward actions, otherwise our world would not be in such an evil and ungodly state.
And the last quote declares: ‘Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.’ Yes and no! The Lord has a plan for every life He creates. As He says through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) That means God has a destiny mapped out for all of us, but we can either seek His will, find out what’s His personal plan and execute it, or we can turn aside and do our own thing.
The fact is, sometimes He will allow us to go our own way, but at other times He won’t. I am a perfect example of that. I never intended to be writing about biblical stuff, and when the Lord broached the idea, I laughed and said I didn’t know enough about the Bible to do it. But He kept on pursuing me until I agreed. And look at all the people who, when He calls, give up good worldly living to do His bidding, which often entails a drop in their societal position. That’s their destiny calling! And they have no choice but to follow it.
And yes, we have free choice, but only to a certain extent. The Lord allows some of us to do certain things, and we think we are in control, making our own choices, but friends, He is always in the background maneuvering our destiny. And He often allows us to make bad choices so that we can realize we are not in total control. Hopefully, that will cause us to come running back to Him, for He desires all of His creation to remain in His fold. He doesn’t want to lose even a single one. Please, let’s remember that and live our lives accordingly. Much LOVE!
…faith in God doesn’t come overnight…it grows with each passing day…
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