Word for Today, Wed Aug 29, 2007, The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
In this issue of My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes about the
testing of our faith. His point is that real faith is challenged and tested by
difficult circumstances. Jesus Himself was the ultimate example of faith. He
was certainly tested at virtually every point in His human life. Matthew 4,
for example, records how the Spirit of God sent Jesus out into the wilderness -
the desert - to be tested. Good old Satan appeared and put Jesus to the test,
especially after He had gone through much prayer and fasting. So what did
Satan do? Suggest that Jesus turn stones into bread. Read the story in the
opening verses of Matthew 4 if you do not already know it. Did Jesus pass the
test? You know He did. What about us? Can we pass the test? Well, we are
not perfect, but Jesus Himself plainly said that the power of the Holy Spirit
is available to all who believe upon His Name and trust in Him completely. He
said that we would be able to reach more people by that power than He reached
in those three short years of ministry. As Oswald says, do we really believe
that God can do it, and an equally large question is "Can God do it through
us?" I would suggest that we are the limiting factor in that question, not
God. How far are we going to trust God?
Let Oswald challenge us with today's message.
Dear God, please penetrate our hearts for our good and for Your eternal glory.
Amen.
My Utmost For His Highest
August 29, 2007
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
Jesus said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would
see the glory of God?' John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in
your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict
your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In
fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you
trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture
out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your
commonsense life continue to shout, "It's all a lie"? When you are on the
mountaintop, it easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to
come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the
realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42
). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something
that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe 'God shall supply all [my]
need,'" the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength
runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith
victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession
through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will
either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he
who is not offended because of Me" (Matthew 11:6). The ultimate thing is
confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end..." (Hebrews 3:14). Believe
steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your
faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our
physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God --
trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6).
--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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