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By Faith

Thanks to Covid 19 we are all living by faith. It matters not if we trust the Administration’s guidelines, the conspiracy theories, or our own assessment. We are now making decisions for which previously we gave no thought.

“Should I or shouldn’t I drive to where there may be other people?”—is a question we rarely, if ever, had to consider before.

Because of this new age of uncertainty, even small decisions are being made for us. We listen because we are under authority but is there any history for them to base their decisions?

As Believers, we hope so, and we do so, but we do not place our faith in them. After all the facts are weighed, these global guidelines are made by faith that they will work.

Living by faith eventually, if not immediately, has either a positive outcome or painful consequence that will affect others. This virus is a great teacher for that lesson.

But there is only one faith that will never cause damage to another person. Since it is God-given and biblically rooted, it has a history. It is not manufactured–it is received.

On a day when God was nowhere to be seen, Adam and Eve decided to make a decision based on what they thought was right. They trusted their own assessment of the situation that confronted them, instead of what God had previously instructed them.

The consequences were painful and remain so to this day.

Life in the Garden ended.

Death and decay entered the human drama.

The story of faith began.

God asked the first two sons born to mankind to bring a specific offering. Their second son, Able did so. His brother Cain did not.

Able brought what God asked, Cain did what he thought was right.

God was displeased with his offering and tried to reason with Cain to not react in anger toward his brother, but Cain did not listen.

By faith, he decided to remove the problem, which to him was his brother Able, whom he murdered.

Instead of removing the problem, Cain was sent into exile, even further away from his parent’s first home.

Hardship and toil became characteristic of the human story.

As did faith—the kind that pleases God–the kind that He responds to.

As time went on, the story of faith was summarized in chapter eleven of the book of Hebrews. It is the story of forward-thinkers. It is not about people who were consumed by success or leisure.

Regardless of what any day looks like, the biblical life of faith is exercised by those who are confident that there is a better day ahead.

Faith always looks to and works toward a better tomorrow for others.

Abraham left his homeland and livelihood because God told him to leave. Joshua stood still because the same God told him to stay.

They believed that God knew the future and trusted Him at His word. The results benefited many people far into the future. The men and women of the Hebrew Bible who responded by faith gave us the most important lessons that anyone can understand and act upon.

Biblical faith is distinct from other faiths though. “By faith” is not an expression, it is a lifestyle. It is not based on weighing the outcome; it is based on a relationship with the One who made you.

It is a transfer of trust from my own opinion to an outcome governed by an all-knowing and loving God. It is not based on my timetable, but His.

Moses is a great example. By faith, he saw Him who was invisible.

How does that work?

It begins with humility. Pride will never lead to biblical faith.

Moses was a man of incredible academic training—think pyramid design. He was in line to follow the Pharoah as an adopted grandson. Something inside of him though drew his attention to the possibility that life meant more than what he had learned thus far. He saw the suffering of others, whom he discovered were his people, and his journey of faith began.

By faith, he forsook the pleasures and position of the lifestyle considered the finest in the world. He exchanged what he knew for what he didn’t.

Where did that faith come from?

The same place it comes to anyone. It comes from God and is available to all who will come to Him.

It is a gift.

We do not demand it—we humbly receive it and it begins to radically affect our lives, with the potential to affect others.

Who did Moses see that was invisible?

He saw Jesus.

But Moses was a Jew, how could he see Jesus?

Jesus was a Jew.

Seeing Him who is invisible–Jesus the Messiah awakens us to see a better day–one we need to prepare for, as did Noah when he built the Ark and Esther who approached the King of Persia and exposed herself as a Jew—the people the King had just signed an edict to annihilate.

We are faced with the Coronavirus, which is invisible to the naked eye, yet is promoting fear around the globe. Many people are living by fear of the invisible. Christians should not be in that number.

Instead of sharing more messages to each other about “fear not,” we need to see Him who is invisible. This is our time to draw near to Him without fear, but in deep humility allow Him access to our souls.

Then by faith, we will see another day coming—a day we can stand face to face with people who have been prepped to hear the message of promise that they will need more than ever before.

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