Life in general is properly described as a journey and not a destination. In this perspective the sum total of what we are engaged in is a walk on this journey. Along this life’s journey many have distracted themselves into side shows. Some are counting the miles they have covered so far and are settling on the wayside. To a good proportion of people the activities of fellow pilgrims have become their preoccupation, and so they turn themselves into walk-watchers.
To the believer in Christ there are rules as to how we walk on this journey. These rules are kept in proper perspective if we are focused on the essence of our walk, and that essence is our faith. It defines our walk.
For example, Hebrews eleven reminds us all of effectiveness, courage and loyalty to God in their walk. Their deeds were not based on wisdom, power, or enthusiasm. Collectively they tell us not to marvel at the great deeds of their lives. We are told, “God made bare His holy arm and has done this by us in His name through faith” (Acts 3:12-16). It is God who has done all these wonderful works.
We make a profound mistake in attributing to these men extraordinary qualities of courage, or strength of body or soul. To do so is to miss the whole point of the reiterated teaching of Scripture. They were not different from ordinary men and women except in their faith.
One characteristic common to all the heroes of faith of the Hebrew story is their faith in God. This lifted them above ordinary men and women and secured for them a niche in the temple of Scripture . This indeed is the capacity of the human heart for God, a marvelous faculty of faith. Four times over this is cited as the secret of all that Moses did for his people.
Our Lord Jesus repeatedly taught and emphasized the need for faith in a believer’s walk. In His judgment having wisdom, being strong and enthusiastic are as the small dust of the balance and must not be taken into serious consideration compared to having faith.
His incessant demand is for faith to b e present in persons. He would say “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamore tree, ‘Be thou plucked up by the root, and be planted by the sea; and it should obey you’” (Luke 17::6). To a father he once said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Luke 9:23, 24).
The believer, therefore, is the God-filled, the God-moved, the God-possessed human person, and the work which he or she effects in the world is not his or hers, but God through him or her. It is certain that as the present age draws to a close, God has great schemes on hand which must shortly be realized. According to His invariable method, He will have to perform them through the instrumentality and faith of human persons.
Walking by faith implies never to evaluate circumstances or things in the light of our strength, education, abilities or resources. Keep in mind that Jehovah, our Jehoshua, our resource, is all we need to face anything in life.
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