BY GREG CRUM
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” I John 5:4-5
Here’s a news flash for you—God has never lost a battle. Not one. It’s never even been close really. Ages ago the devil tried, and well, you know how that worked out for him. I think Jesus mentioned a fall to Earth, and to reference the speed of which chose the words “like lightning”! God is a winner, and as His children we can be winners in the “game” of life, but winning in life doesn’t happen just because we are so good. Our faith in Christ and in His way is our key to every victory in this life, and there is no great victory in this life without this substance called faith.
Hebrews 6:12 reiterates the truth of our victory through faith when it states, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” It takes faith, and its application, to receive God’s promises in this life. There’s no other way to do it His way. As much as sometimes we wish there was a “Plan B,” there will be no fulfillment of God’s good promises in our lives without faith being exercised on our behalf. Scripture is pretty clear in this regard.
With that said, as we seek God’s promises in this life, we will inevitably come to the point to where we must believe what we have heard and act on that belief before we ever see the results we desire—there’s no other Godly way around it. The actions of true faith in God are by their very nature at first sight unseen. Think about the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. Men like Noah, Abraham, and Joseph, women like Sarah and Rahab. What did they have in common that propelled them to receive from God the blessings He desired for them? They all had a moment in time in which they had to trust in the words of God sight unseen, and they did!
Too many Christians today live by a strong faith in their five senses. It’s a byproduct of growing up in an age in which science and reason are worshipped. We trust in what we see and feel and consequently receive the end of our faith in the flesh—disappointment in not receiving what we’ve been praying for. We never receive what we desire because we must see it before we will believe it. This is totally contrary to the Biblical pattern. It’s contrary to true faith in God, and it’s something we are cautioned against in the Word. Remember the Lord’s admonition to Thomas? In John 20:29 it’s recorded that Jesus told him, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” Ouch! That was a pretty strong rebuke from the Lord, and Thomas has gone down in history for once doubting the Lord’s resurrection, but you know what? He’s not the only Christian that has balked at the testimony of God’s Word because he couldn’t see the results first. I’d say we’ve all been guilty of this sin from time to time.
Brothers and sisters, if we are waiting to see positive results before we move forward in our faith walk, are we really taking God at His Word? Great faith takes God at His Word and acts like it is so. If we are going to see victory in our lives and receive the answers to the prayers we have been praying for our families and our community, we are going to have to trust in the Lord, and act like we have the answer before we ever see the first sign of triumph.
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple Church in Lovely.