Faith in action

When I was younger and not so mature, I used to have the approach of if you do something for me then I will do something for you. At the time it seemed to make sense to me, but as I became older and wiser I understood life doesnt always work like this. Sometimes we need to do things because we trust the other person, we are not expectant of what they can do for us.

As I have talk about previously, faith is a key ingredient to our relationship with God. But its one thing to say "I have faith" but its a totally other thing to actually step out in faith, actually demonstrate your faith. There are so many examples of faith in action all throughout the Bible, but one chapter in particular that highlights some excellent examples is Hebrews 11. This chapter lists a number of people who obeyed in faith, despite their circumstance, for example is Heb 11:11-12 -

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

There are many other cases, but the point here is that when they demonstrated great faith, God was able to do great works. But they didnt always straight away reap the benefits, in particular Abraham had to wait many years before he was blessed with a son, but that never weakened his faith. Even when he was told to sacrifice his son, he was obedient and put his faith into action.

Another important point about these individuals was that they had an ear on what God was calling them to do.What we must realise is God is contantly trying to communicate with us. Romans 10:17 says -

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

But what God asks of us will not always be easy and we will face opposition. Just as it says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 -

But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

God always wants to talk to us through different channels, but we must know how to discern His voice and His heart so that we can fully understand what He is communicating to us. We may think that we are hearing the voice of God, but we are being deceived by Satan. But you may ask how do we know if its truly the word of God...well simply saturate yourself in the word of God. Then when you hear that voice, you will be able to determine if its the word of God or not.

The word of God is what will change us. We must hear the spirit and let it work within us. The power of Gods word is highlighted in Hebrews 4:12 -

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

We must never underestimate the power of Gods word in our lives and that again underlines why it is vital to feast on His word daily.

God is constantly desiring time with us, even when we still sinners. Rev 3:20 mentions this -

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

The Lord is telling us that He is waiting for us to open up to Him. When we do He wants to spend time with us intimately. He also wants us to have a passion for His word and to demonstrate through our faith. He doesnt want us to be sitting on the fence, just lukewarm in our faith as it states in Rev 3:16 -

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

God wants us to be on fire for His word!

We need to be dependent on the Lord. That he will see fruits grow in our lives and others can come pick from these fruits and reap the benefits also. But we must first dedicate time to God, to reading His word, meditating on His word. Only then can we truly hear what He is saying to us and we can then put our faith into action according to His will.