Hebrews
11:1 (AMP)
NOW
FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we]
hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their
reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
2
Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Has anyone out there ever been
frustrated by the concept of “faith”? Seriously. I realize that faith is a popular word in the modern
vernacular and most of us probably have it hanging on a wall somewhere in our
house.
But does anyone know what the heck
it means?
Do you ever question it?
For example, have you heard the
doctrine that God only answers prayers that are given with some mysterious and
unrevealed faith quota? (i.e., God would
have healed Spot if you’d had about 2.47% more faith. Sorry. Try again next
time.) Or how about the idea that you have to just “have faith” and stop
thinking? (How could you ask questions like that? Why would you ask God to
explain himself or make something clear to you? You evil person of little
faith! Just believe! No, I don’t know what we believe either. But, by God,
believe. Dang it.)
I for one admit that I am most infuriated
by 2 Corinthians 4:18. How on earth can I “fix my eyes” on something unseen?
Honestly. Or do you ever venture into the wide world of asking questions when
you read the Scripture? I don’t know about you, but when we talk about eyes, immediately we’re talking about
things you have to be able to see. I cannot see
Jesus. I cannot see God. At times,
yes, we experience his power. But God is unseen. This verse is talking about another
kind of sight altogether.
It’s that word “fix”—to set our gaze upon. To incline our entire focus on something. To
turn our body so as to put ourselves in the right alignment in order to better
observe, watch, and look upon something. Here’s the kind of gaze we’re talking
about:
Isaiah 26:3 “You
will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind
is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.”
Another
translation here is that his mind is “fixed upon you.” The funny thing is that
we run into the same conundrum here as well: how do you “fix your mind” on the
limitless, eternal God? It seems almost cruel, really. Well, here’s my
translation: “he drew a line in the sand and decided on God.”
The moment when you “fix” yourself
upon something, you have made a life-altering decision about it. When I get in
my car, I have decided that I believe it can sustain 55 mph speeds through wind
and rain. To be honest, I don’t think very often about the structural integrity
of my car. I just… drive. But there are a lot of “believers” out there who have
never decided (purposed, accepted,
firmly declared) anything about God other than “Jesus died for my sins.” Now, let
me say this: that which we call the “declaration of faith” is powerful.
Life-altering.
It is a statement that
you have accepted the finished work of Christ.
But it is just the beginning!!
Have
you ever decided that God is good?
Have
you ever firmly declared that he knows the plans he has for you?
Have
you ever decided that God is for you?
Have
you ever decided that God’s love never fails?
Let me share with you the revelation
God gave me the other day on my walk.
I saw the most intense sunrise I
have ever seen. When I first looked up, it was so bright that I had to turn
away. Then I noticed something strange: there was light creeping up from the
horizon. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the bright light causing me to turn
away was the moon. The sun itself was
not yet visible, yet the sun’s rays were so perfectly and fully reflected upon
the surface of the moon that I couldn’t tell the difference. The sky was
completely ablaze with the golden haze of the sun, even though the dance of the
cosmos was taking place beneath what we call “horizon.” I couldn’t see the sun,
but I could have been blinded by the moon. I’m grasping at words here. I can’t
even explain what I saw!
Then God spoke to my heart: “That is
faith.”
You see, the moon really wasn’t
working very hard. It was not doing any kind of mental exercise to reflect the
sun’s rays. It hadn’t gotten up extra early to practice being “like the sun”;
it didn’t wear a WWSD bracelet. It just hung there, expectantly, like an eager
child in the vastness of space. And at the right moment, the sun’s glory blazed
forth upon its surface, and the moon had no
choice but to reflect. The only thing that can stop the moon from
reflecting the sun’s rays is if is positioned
in what we call an eclipse—when something has come between the moon and the sun
and is blocking the flow of light.
Follow me for a moment. Ephesians
2:8 talks about the relationship between grace and faith. God’s grace comes to
us, and faith is our response. God’s grace is the light of the sun, and the
reflection of the moon is faith. God’s grace comes at us, whether we’re ready
or not. We can stand and accept it, or we can position ourselves so that
something comes between God and us.
How many believers, I wonder, live in a perpetual state of spiritual eclipse?
Scripture!
Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)
“NOW
FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we]
hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their
reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
Can you imagine if the moon tried to
argue the existence of the sun? If it tried to conjure up a reflection in order
to prove the sun’s work? That would be ridiculous. The moon just… hangs there.
Honestly, that stinking chunk of rock has more sense than I do most days. I
work myself into knots about the most ridiculous things.
I
worry about God’s provision.
I
doubt his calling.
I
question his purpose.
What
if we decided to do something crazy and just make up our minds and walk in it?
I love how the Amplified Bible deals with that scripture verse: “faith
perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses”. It is the title
deed of what we hope for. We say that Christ in us is the “hope of glory,”
don’t we? Well, we can only claim that by faith—faith itself being our title
deed! But do we believe it, at gut
level? Or do we forget that which God has revealed to us?
Isn’t
that how it plays out, though? When we see some great move of God, we
experience an emotion that we call “faith.” But within a week or so, we’re
right back where we were. Sometimes, we’re worse off. It’s because we have not fixed ourselves upon God’s revelations.
When the eternal God who created the universe by the word of his power and has
declared his love for us says something, it’s worth making your mind up about
it. Read through Hebrews 11—in almost every case, the people mentioned had
experienced God, and then lived with rock-solid assurance rooted in what God
had revealed to them. Abraham knew he and his wife had no hope of producing
offspring. But he fixed his mind upon
what God said: “You will be the father of many nations.”
He
lived his life based on a line he drew in the sand: God said it, I believe it.
Let
me repeat that: God said it, I believe it.
If God hadn’t revealed himself to
you, you would have an excuse. If you’d never experienced the blazing bright
light of the suns rays, maybe we could let you off the hook for being a bit
apprehensive about reflecting them. But I say to all believers: You have no
excuse. If you are a child of God, you have some decisions to make. If God has
called you, why are you not living according to his calling? If God has
justified you, why are you cringing like a dog before a rolled-up newspaper? If
God filled you with joy, why do you live like a cynic? (And, be warned, most
“realists” are just poorly-masked cynics.) If God set you free, why do you live
like you’re in shackles? If God said that you would do greater works than his
Son, why do you act like the life of Jesus should be put in stained-glass
windows?
God reveals his heart toward us
through grace. As we perceive his grace, faith rises within us. As we grow
deeper in our walk with God, he continues to reveal his heart toward us. As he
continues to reveal himself, our faith grows. As our faith grows, we boldly ask
him to reveal more of himself to us. As he reveals more of himself, our faith
grows.
Does that make sense?
You
cannot produce faith.
You
cannot will it into your heart.
Faith
is based on God alone.
It
is a response to his grace.
If
you could manufacture it,
Grace
would be unnecessary.
Here
is what you can do: make up your
mind.
Make
a decision. Fix your mind on God as he
reveals himself to you. Seek him in prayer and he will reveal himself more.
Seek him in praise and he will reveal himself. Seek him in the Word and he will
reveal himself.
God
is waiting to reveal himself to you.
He
is the Author and Perfecter of our FAITH
(Hebrews 12:2)
If
you will not make up your mind, someone else will make it up for you. I can
promise you that. Faith may seem scary, but living in indecision is the real
nightmare. You cannot stand on a word you don’t believe is promised. You cannot
stand on the promises of a God you don’t trust. If you have not made up your
mind about God, then your mind is a free-for-all for all the influences,
spirits, and people on this earth. If you have not made up your mind about God,
you cannot stand.
But,
dear friends, if you do make up your
mind…
If
you decide that God has, indeed reconciled you to himself...
If
you decide that God’s promises to you are final and eternal truth…
If
you trust that his character is all that he has revealed it to be…
Then
your life will never be the same.
"another fine bit of writing brought to you by yours truly"
