Do I know what’s next?

Today I feel like Abraham must have felt when God called him to go — not knowing where and what awaited him there. God is asking me to change many things. Part of that was a deep desire to simplify my life, to be more efficient, to listen more closely to Him in areas where habit dictated action rather than the Holy Spirit. However, I know that whatever lies ahead, I am clueless yet eager to discover what will happen.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

MacArthur begins today’s reading with: “The life of faith begins with a willingness to forsake everything that displeases God.” If that is applicable to me, then living by habit is His target rather than any gross sin. Yet I know that sin is sin, whether it is shaking my fist in His face or merely not asking Him how He wants me to spend every minute of each day.

Abraham is the biblical example of the living by faith. He was not perfect, sometimes taking matters into his own hands, but the Bible is clear; not only was this man the father of the Hebrew nation, by example he was the father of all who live by faith in God.

He (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well. (Romans 4:11)

The first-century Jews thought God selected this man because of his righteousness, but Abraham was a sinful man living in the idolatrous society in the Chaldean city of Ur. God’s call to him was like this: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1–3) and his response: “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:4)

He listened, trusted and obeyed. His pilgrimage of faith began when he separated himself from the pleasures of a pagan land to pursue God’s plan for his life.

There is a certain pleasure of being in control of life, doing things that are easy for me, keeping habits, living my days with a schedule of events and activities of my own choice. Most people would not consider any of that as sinful or pagan, but the closer God pulls me to Jesus, the more I see that He did not live that way. His prayer in Gethsemane was, “Not my will but thine be done” yet He prayed and lived that way all the time.

MacArthur says, “So it is with you if you’re a man or woman of true faith. You’ve forsaken sinful pleasures to follow Christ. And as your love for Christ increases, there’s a corresponding decrease in worldly desires.” Right now, I know that sinful desires include managing my own life without asking Him about all things. In a sense, this is practical atheism — living by my choices as if God did not exist.

God wants my focus on fulfilling His will for my life when I get up, whenever I eat and drink (see 1 Corinthians 10:31), and do daily chores (or not), finding out what He wants rather than simply living according to my to-do list without asking or listening for His input. He may not take me away from home, but I am already realizing that increased prayer will be part of it. I prayed three rather outrageous requests this week and He answered them. It wasn’t what I prayed that mattered, but He is showing me that I can pray for His will to be done with confidence in the outcome, no matter how impossible the request might seem. He wants me to always know the joy and assurance that come from following Him.

PRAY: Jesus, grant me the grace and spiritual courage to walk by faith today rather than by habit and in my own strength and thinking.

PONDER: How does this passage describe the way that I run my own life?

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

 

 

Faith and success?

Do most new Christians think that by believing in Christ and trusting God to lead them that they will wind up in a place of success? I did. I thought God would give me awesome challenges and some kind of prominence in His kingdom if I did as He asked. When that didn’t happen, I assumed I did something wrong and became upset with myself. This was a foolish assumption and a self-centered conclusion.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

Abraham is called the ‘father of faith’ because he simply believed God. When God asked him to do something, he did it. In this verse, it was separating himself from his country and kin, and without a clue going where God was leading him.

Today, this separation is more mental and moral. That is, God calls me to be separate from the way the world thinks and separate from my old life of sin.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (Colossians 3:5–9)

This separation might also include people who do not have the same faith relationship with God that I do. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27)

While I need to remember that “hate” here is a relative term of hostility describing how faith puts believers at enmity with those who are resisting God, it is also a real separation in many parts of the world. Some new Christians must flee their families because at best they will be considered as ‘dead’ and at worst, their family members will make death a literally truth.

As for being called by God and not knowing where I am going, faith responds because I know who is calling me. Faith isn’t about intellect and reason. It is knowledge of a Person, and trusting that Person to take me the best way, the surest way.

However, Chambers says that one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is going to lead me to “success.” The Bible says that He is working in my life to make me like His Son. This is a great success, yet not the prominence in His kingdom as I first supposed. I could be like Jesus in some way as a leader, or teacher, or in some position of service in the church. But I can also be like Jesus in my home, around the table with my family and other guests, shopping at the mall, or driving on the freeway. In the mind of God, that is success.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

This word appears only once in the Bible. It means to thrive, to be wise, having understanding. There is nothing to suggest it means what most of the modern word thinks it means.

The goal of faith is Christ-like character in all of life. The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting. It is not a question of sanctification; but of something infinitely beyond sanctification. It is faith that has been tried and proved and has stood the test.

Faith is believing God no matter what, and trusting Him to take me wherever He wants me to go, on rocky roads or smooth, into light or into shadows, with friends or alone, with a bit of glory or with no applause at all.

Faith includes obedience

Almost every day God’s Word challenges me to believe something about God. Not only that, by whatever He says, He is also calling for a change in attitude, words or actions.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

Faith does not stand by itself. Abraham believed, and because he believed, he “obeyed and went.” As James wrote,

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. (James 2:14–24)

Jesus also declared the importance of acting on what I believe. He spoke to those who declared they had faith, but were not obedient. However, He added another element — relationship. Works of faith are not works that stand by themselves but are based on a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

The framework for obedience is about trusting the God that I know, the One who has revealed Himself to me and invited me into a saving relationship. He is my Heavenly Father and I am His child by adoption, but also His because of new birth, what the Bible calls regeneration. I have been reborn into His family and His kingdom. Good works cannot happen apart from any of these things, at least not the good works that God wants.

No one can do these good works or earn that saving relationship with God by doing good apart from Christ. That relationship must first be there, and it begins because God does something, not me.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Abraham responded to the call of God with obedience. God started this man’s life of faith, Abraham didn’t. Yet his acts of obedience proved that God had called him. His faith was no mere verbal declaration but a changed life and a change of life’s direction.

If my life remained the same as before Christ called me, then my lack of response would prove that I didn’t really believe in Him. Not only that, I cannot decide the new course I am to take, even if my decisions looked good on the surface. Following Jesus Christ is about doing what He says, not doing what I think would make me a “good” Christian. Doing what He says happens because I believe His words and commands are true and that He is true and right and good. This is not about being religious, but about a relationship of loving trust.

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Jesus, these are basic truths and it is good to be reminded of their reality. Today, You will give me something to do. Doing it is not duty or rote or for show. Obedience happens because You have granted me a clear view of who You are plus the gift of faith to believe what You say. You may ask me to go out or stay in. You may ask me to help someone or to offer something precious to You. You may also ask me to rest and spend this day with family and friends. Whatever this day brings, my desire is to respond to it according to Your Word — and even that desire is from You.