Show Me Faith

I’ve shared my journey of believing for healing in my marriage before. I’ve written about some of our ups and downs, and shared my struggles as I waited on God. And as I sit and think about how miraculously God worked in my family, I can honestly say that that journey was not easy. There were times when I thought that all I was doing was in vain. I felt like I was waiting and waiting without seeing the fruit of my faith in Him. But, as I look back on my journey, there was a shift in strategy that took place along the way. And this shift, I believe, is what resulted in my receiving the fruit that I was so desperately hoping for. I don’t want you to misunderstand me, as I explain this shift in strategy to you, because none of this was through my power or strength. Jesus did it all. Without the Spirit of God working in my situation, my family would still be broken, and my marriage probably nonexistent. But I want to share a principle that I implemented in my life, as I believed for the promises of God. This is a principle that I adopted, and it is one that is prevalent throughout the bible. Faith by itself is not enough. What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2:14-17 NLT) As I sought the Lord’s face, pleading with Him to heal my marriage, He revealed something to me. He showed me that while I spoke in faith that my marriage would be healed, my actions proved otherwise. Because while I said that I believed He would do it, I acted as if I needed to make it happen on my own. I prayed, but then proceed to try and fix my marriage in my own strength. I continued to act as if the burden was on me, and like if something was going to change, I would have to make it happen, myself. But God said that my actions weren’t lining up with my belief in Him. When we think of the men and woman of the bible, that were known for their faith, we have to remember that we regard them as faith-filled because of their actions, not just their beliefs. Yes, they believed in God, but more importantly, they acted as if they believed in God. Their actions proved their faith. Actions speak louder than words. We say this all the time, but we fail to understand that God feels the same way about our faith in Him. God doesn’t just want us to speak faith, He wants us to show Him our faith. He wants our actions to prove that we trust in Him. You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:19-24 NLT) My understanding of this principle—that faith without action is dead—was the turning point in my faith journey. I went through a season of God showing me all the areas where I was not fully trusting in Him. He wanted me to show my faith by surrendering my grip on the situation. He showed me that my actions were proving my faith in myself, instead of my faith in Him. Faith without action is useless. According to the bible passage above, Abraham’s actions made his faith complete. So, this means that it is possible to have an incomplete faith, a faith that does not produce fruit. This is what I had. It’s not that I didn’t have faith in God. My faith just wasn’t made complete. It wasn’t until I put my faith into motion, that everything changed. Our actions make our faith complete. When we have complete faith, we act in a manner that shows our trust in God. What do I mean? Well for me, that meant that I had to act like I believed that God would heal my marriage. I could no longer say I trust God but work to fix my marriage in my own strength. I had to take my hands off of the situation. I focused my eyes on God, and what He wanted to do in me, instead of the issues that arose in my marriage. God continually told me to stop worrying about my husband, because He would take care of it all. He told me to seek His face, and obey His instructions. Obedience proves faith. We have to understand the part that we play in the miracles of God, because when we do our part, He does His part. So, although God is the miracle worker, He always puts the ball in our court. He always gives us a choice. Just think back to the beginning of time, when God created Adam and formed Eve. He gave them a beautiful garden to live in. He gave them a set of instructions, but He also gave them a choice. He put the ball in their court. He gave them access to His blessing, but that access was contingent upon their obedience. And since Adam and Eve were not obedient, they lost access to God’s blessings. So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24 NLT) Disobedience prevents us from entering into the promises of God. Our actions can work for, or against, our faith. In the book of 1 Samuel, we see a story of Israel’s first king, Saul. He was given an instruction from the prophet Samuel. Saul was told to wait seven days for Samuel, so that he could sacrifice the burnt offering in the presence of God. But Samuel took a little longer than expected, and as Saul saw the Philistine army ready for battle, he took it upon himself to complete the task. …Samuel said, “What is this you have done?” Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” (1 Samuel 13:11-12 NLT) Saul’s decision prevented him from receiving the promise of God. Instead of following the instructions, and waiting for the plan of God to come to pass, he took matters into his own hands. Saul allowed his fears, and his own understanding, to come between him and his blessing. “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT) Saul’s story shows us how much our own decisions matter. We can say that we trust God all we want, but if our actions don’t line up with our faith in Him, we will miss the promises of God. Saul certainly did. In this story, we see that he acted the way he did because he wanted to ask for the Lord’s help. He thought that he was doing the right thing, but the problem is that Saul made his choice through the lens of his own understanding. And this is why it is so crucial to obey the instructions of God. He has a view that is much higher than our own, and He isn’t limited to what we can see. So when He gives us instruction, we have the remember that He has a foresight that always pushes us in the direction of His plan for our lives. When we obey God, we have access to His blessings. God has put the ball in our court. We have been given a choice. Will we obey God and receive His blessing, or will we go our own way and forfeit His promise? What are the promises that God has given you? What are the areas that you are believing for God to restore? Has He given you instruction in the matter? Has he told you to wait on Him, and trust in Him? Sometimes He gives us instructions that we can make sense of, but often times, He give us instructions that we can’t make sense of. And this is purposeful. He uses these opportunities to test our faith in Him. He wants us to trust Him no matter what. He wants to see if we believe that He has good things planned for us, and whether or not we’ll trust Him to bring those plans to pass. When we think of the journey that led to the Israelites occupying the promised land, we are faced with two generations. The first generation, led by Moses, was unable to see the promise of God. They didn’t have the faith to trust God, when faced with an improbable situation. God gave them an instruction, He told them to scout out the land that He would give them. But when the scouts returned, the majority of them gave a bad report. But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:31-33 NLT) The report of these scouts proved that they had more faith in what their eyes could see, than they did in the God that brought them out of slavery. Their lack of faith resulted in the entire generation of Israelites being disqualified from entering into the promised land. God did, however, make two exceptions. Because of their faith, shown through their good report, He allowed Joshua and Caleb to see His promise. Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:6-9 NLT) “How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. (Numbers 14:27-30 NLT) This generation of Israelites forfeited their promise, but another generation rose up after them. And this generation was led by Joshua, Moses’ assistant—one of the men that previously scouted out the promised land. When Joshua takes leadership over the tribes of Israel, we see a shift in strategy. While Moses is known for his faith in leading the Israelites out of slavery, Joshua is known for his faith in leading the Israelites into the promised land. Joshua was determined to enter into the promised land no matter what. He believed the promises of God to be true, and he proved this through his actions. Joshua then commanded the officers of Israel, “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Joshua 1:10-11 NLT) One of the most well known stories from Joshua’s leadership is the account of the Israelite’s victory over the city of Jericho. And I want to point out that this victory was only possible because of their choice to trust God, and obey His instructions. Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” (Joshua 6:1-5 NLT) When God gave His instructions, Joshua and the Israelites had a choice to make. Would they obey God, or would they trust what their eyes could see? Because trusting in their own understanding would have resulted in them taking actions that made more sense. It would have made much more sense to come up with a military strategy on how they would break past the wall, and it certainly didn’t make any sense to march around in circles, blow a rams horn, or shout. But, Joshua and the Israelites decided to trust God despite their own understanding. By obeying God, they proved that they trusted Him. Their obedience made their faith complete. And as a result, they were able to walk into the promise of God. When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. (Joshua 6:20 NLT) We have to live life God’s way, in order to experience His blessings. I’ve experience both scenarios. I’ve lived my life on my own terms. I’ve seen the results of walking according to my own understanding, and my family has the scars to prove it. But because I repented, and turned my face to God, my family now has a testimony that proves His faithfulness. But it didn’t come without obey His instructions. It didn’t come without dying to my own will, so that His could be done in my life. God has so many blessings planned for us, but He requires us to trust Him first. And while we are saying that we trust God, we must remember that our actions speak louder than our words. Our choices either prove that we trust God, or they prove that we don’t. So He says, “show Me faith.” He wants to see that we believe Him. He wants to see that we trust His plan, instead of our own. He want’s to see us humble ourselves beneath His will, even when we don’t understand. This is obedience. This is what made all the difference in my life. I was able to see my marriage healed, not because I told God that I believed He would do it, but because I showed Him that I believed He would. Before, I had enough faith to pray for my marriage; I had enough faith to speak life over my marriage, but I didn’t have enough faith to act on it. And when I acted on it, my faith was made complete. Complete faith reveals the promises of God. What areas of your faith are incomplete? Have you been walking according to your own understanding, instead of trusting in your heavenly Father? I promise that He never misses. He gave me so many instructions that I couldn’t make sense of, but each time I obeyed Him, He revealed more of His promise. And He will do the same for you. So I encourage you today, to trust in Him. Lay down your own way, pick up His, and allow Him to manifest His power in your life. He is faithful. Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for the promises that you’ve given me, and thank you for sending the grace that allows me to walk in blessing regardless of the choices that I have made in the past. Right now, I repent, and I turn back to you. Forgive me for seeking to live life according to my own understanding, and for disobeying your will for my life. Today, I choose to turn back to you, and I choose to submit to your plan for my life. And I thank you, because as I turn back to you, I know that you are sending the grace that guides me back into your will. I trust you, and I believe that your word is true. I believe that all of your promises will prove true in my life. I ask that you would send your Spirit to enable me to walk according to your plan, so that I can obey your instructions even when I am afraid, and even when I don’t see how it will work out. I choose to trust you over my own understanding. I choose you today, and everyday for the rest of my life. I praise you in advanced for all that you have planned for me. I love you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.