Are You – Full Of Faith Or Fear?
In the next few devotionals, I will be challenging all of us to examine ourselves. We are not to judge others, but we are to judge ourselves. The Scriptures say that if we judge ourselves correctly we will not be judged, (I Cor. 11.28-31). In the second letter to the Corinthians it says we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, (13.5). So this is where we will start. Are you full of faith or fear?
I have had people come up to me and ask me to pray that they would have more faith. They find themselves so weak in their faith and so tormented by fear. Their problems seem so overwhelming and in desperation they cry out for help. What many people don’t know is that faith does not come through prayer, but by hearing the Word of God. As we look to the Bible as our reference for faith, we will probably find out that we really have more faith than we thought we had.
Abraham is a good example of a man full of faith. In fact he is called the father of faith. In Romans, chapter 4, verse 19, it says that even though his body was weak and as good as dead and Sara’s womb was barren, he did not waver in his faith. He did not allow the circumstances to get him discouraged. Fear did not determine the outcome of his life.
Let’s look at Romans 4.20-21 to see how Abraham grew strong in his faith.
“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
First, he gave glory to God for the promise he received. Do you do that? Do you praise the Lord for the promises God has given to you? I think you do.
The next thing Abraham did was that he was fully persuaded that God could fulfill His promise. He knew that he had no ability in the natural to fulfill the promise, but that God could. He was weak, but God is strong. Are you convinced that God can do all that He said in His Word? These are the two requirements to having strong faith: Give God the glory for His promise and be fully convinced that He can do what He said He would do. If you have fulfilled these two requirements, then you too are strong in faith.
Fear is a lie from the devil. Fear puts the fulfilling of the promise on your shoulders. Fear looks at the circumstances and projects them into the future. The promises of God are God’s business. What He says, He will do. Don’t listen any more to fear. Listen to the Word of God and believe. You will not be disappointed.
Scriptures to meditate on:
I Cor. 11.28; II Cor. 13.5-8; Romans 4.17-21; 10.17;