A Word about Daily Faith

 

Today I want to share a word about daily faith as I comment on 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5.

This Scripture reads: 

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

We Exercise Faith Daily:

Trust is an everyday event in our lives: We trust banks to care for our money.  We trust the grocery store for the food we eat.  We trust the gas station to sell us pure fuel.

 

We simply could not live our daily lives without a measure of trust. And when we lose trust we often do silly things, like the man who was scared to fly who had to travel by air for a business trip. When he returned, he was asked how the trip went and how his flights were. He replied that he was OK because he didn’t put all his weight on airplane seat!

When We Lose Faith We get into Trouble:

When humans get scared we fall in to the fight, flight, or freeze syndrome. We will take one of those actions when we are afraid. All through the history of God’s people we can see the destructive effects of losing our trust in God:

Adam and Eve hiding from God after the fall.

Abraham and Sarah planning to have a child through Hagar instead of relying upon God.

Israel panicking when Moses was delayed in returning from Mount Sinai and deciding to worship a Golden Calf.

Saul being afraid that Samuel was not coming and deciding to improperly make a sacrifice to God in his place.

The apostles running away on the night Jesus was betrayed and Peter denying Him three times.

Our Faith is In God’s Promise:

God has promised to redeem His people, As I record this we are approaching the Christmas Season. Christmas is not only a time when we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, but it is also a reminder that the faith we place in God is well justified. That first Christmas morning God fulfilled the promises He had made to His people many years before. As Jeremiah 33:14-16 remind us:

‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

God kept His promises through the birth of Jesus, and He still keeps His promises today, when almost no one else does. If God has said, it, we can have faith in it!

Faith is a Decision of Our Will:

We must decide to listen to God instead of our fear. We also must decide to allow Him to teach us what our daily troubles mean, as Romans 5:1-5 says:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance ]character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Conclusion:

Pilots must decide before they takeoff what they will do if an emergency happens; we also must decide before a crisis occurs what we will do in our daily walk with God. 

The best answer is to exercise our faith and trust in Him. It is the only way to provide for our success and the only way to glorify Him!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt