Each Day: By Faith!

 

In Romans 1:17, the Bible gives us a verse which capsulates the entire Christian walk in just one brief statement.  Romans is the doctrinal book of the all the New Testament letters the Biblical writers penned.  In it Paul walks us through all of the critical issues related to our salvation and righteousness in Christ.  It is the standard by which Christianity is differentiated from all other belief systems.  If you were an alien and wanted to understand the modus operendi of the earthbound Christian. this verse would be in the underlined section in the Cliff notes for Christianity.  Its so important and vital to the Christian's walk and relationship to God that it is the absolute imperative for us to understand as Christians.

 Ready?  Here it is.

The just shall live by faith. 

Are you saying right now,  That's it?  The answer is a simple yes, That's it!  If you know this truth and live out each day by this immutable life standard you will experience God's presence, power, and provision.  

Hebrew 11:6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Maybe you are asking what does it look like to live by faith?  Let me give a personal illustration.

Several years ago when our family was preparing to move to Newfoundland as church planters, we were on our maiden voyage in my VW van raising support when we broke down in the middle of no where outside of Huntsville, Texas during a freak winter storm.  Huntsville, if you didn't know it already, is the home of the state penitentary.  We had previously made a family decision before leaving our former role as a an assistant pastor in Florida, that we would not have a residence to come back to or a credit card in our pockets for emergencies until the mission of raising our support was completed.  We determined that we were going to learn the faith walk!

 We had our first child in the car seat and about $75 in our pockets for gas, hotel and whatever---Oh, and one packed lunch from our Houston host!  I reached over and took my wife's hand and said, we need to pray.  We did, and I got out to walk to the nearest house.

Well, to make a long story short, from that moment until four days later, God not only showed up, but showed me how to trust Him in faith for all my needs.  It was a lesson that has framed this truth for me for nearly thirty-five years.  We literally left our hotel in Huntsville, Texas with a repaired vehicle, full stomachs,  and the $75 I started with earlier.  From the moment I stepped out of the van that day to find help, I discovered that God had already gone before me and met every need before I even knew them!

God turned what I thought was a disaster into a demonstration of His sovereign power in my life meeting every last need I had, and then some!  Are you in a place like that today?  First, stop and give God the entire situation.  Then do your part as He leads you forward.

 I encourage you in your walk of faith to know like David knew in Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.