I was reading the Bible this morning and learned of the Israelites attack on the Philistines. They lost. Not only did they lose but they lost several attempts. The last attempt they brought along the Ark of the Covenant so God's favor would go before them. They lost again because God had left them to their own desires for yet another time in history. So, the Philistines routed the Israelites killing 30,000 of them; took the Ark as booty, and set about doing what they did best: eating and drinking. God didn't like the Ark being in enemy hands and brought the Philistines grief time and time again until the leaders of one village moved the Ark to another village and finally to a third village until the outcry was so great from the people that the Philistines returned the Ark to the Israelites. Nope, God doesn't need our help! He's perfectly capable and able to do what brings Him glory and honor even when God's people screw up.
The opposite is also true. Christians are never alone and in Christ are never defeated. God is there to answer our and other's prayers in HIS time, place and way. What's usually missing with us Christians is faith. Faith not in something we can exercise only when we need to. Faith is something born in us just as we are born again. Unless we act on that faith and exercise that faith every day, we return to the old commonsense that gets in trouble every time. Then someone comes along, we are defeated and our Twinkies are stolen. Not really but the point is made. What is stolen is our sense of being safe in God's arms. This in turn leads us to further abandon our faith (granted by God) and the downward spiral continues. Our faith then becomes the ridicule of those whom we have witnessed to. With our witness gone, Satan wins. You lose.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. That's what the Bible says. It's also what Christians who have truly believed and follow Jesus attest to. Billy Graham once said, "You can't see the air but you believe it's there for us to breathe." Faith is the evidence....to whom? You and I. Faith is the evidence of things....what things? Faith is the evidence of things not seen....even for the blind. Maybe more so for the blind. Blindly believing is faith, not foolishness. Being filled with faith is evidenced by those who do not believe in those who do. People come to those who they believe have the faith needed for the moment. Faith is your choice as it is mine. No one can take my faith away. No one can dispute my faith with any kind of intelligent argument. Why would that be? Because God doesn't need my help. He doesn't need your help. People who are perishing need His help and that's where your and my choice comes in. Remember, it's always your choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment