Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Thursday, June 6, 2019

Audio Link: http://bit.ly/ThoughtsinWorship

This is devotional thought number 50 in our devotional series titled, “The Faith I Live By”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:1–10).

I must admit that this life is no cakewalk. There are so many obstacles that litter our paths everyday. We encounter unreasonable people, difficult assignments at work, bill collectors, flat tires, road rage, etc. We have internal struggles with low self-esteem, overwhelming guilt feelings, feeling unappreciated by loved ones, and just trying to get through yet another grueling day. And to top it all off, we have to deal with our sin problems. We have addictions to food, questionable entertainment, questionable relationships, pride, and other dysfunctions. If left to our own devices, our lives would be a mess.

God has lofty expectations of us. He said that we should be holy because He is holy. He said we should have the mind of Christ. He said we should esteem others higher than ourselves. He said we should never lean on our own understanding. He said we are to seek Him first and all things needful will be added to our lives.

How? How in the world can we have such odds stacked against us from the moment we begin developing in our mother's womb, and God have these desires for us? Faith. The answer is faith. I admit this may sound like a likely answer. It may seem vacant like it's missing something. Yet, it is the truth. If the Bible says that it is impossible to please God without faith, it stands to reason that with faith, we can overcome all our human inadequacies and please our heavenly Father.

What is faith? Hopefully you have already read the Bible's definition in our theme text so I will not repeat it. I would like to say it this way: Faith is the conduit through which God’s power to live according to His will comes into our lives. That which was impossible in our own strength, God makes possible through faith. Those whose faith lays hold of God's power can overcome all evil tendencies, doubts, weaknesses, and poor thinking patterns.

So my encouragement to you today is to ask God to increase your faith. Ask Him to reward your tiny faith with limitless power from heaven. Ask Him to originate, nurture, and blossom the kind of faith in your life that pleases Him and can remove any mountain that stands between you and God’s ideal...