WALK IN FAITH What People say: “To walk in faith means to trust in your heart.” The Bible never tells us to trust in our heart; it says the opposite. We are told that the heart is deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9 — The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it), and calls us fools if we do trust our hearts (Proverbs 28:26 — He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.). “It means to trust in your feelings or gut instinct.” Again, the Bible never tells us to trust in our feelings. Feelings are too changeful from moment to moment and from person to person, even when the people are all reacting to the same event. “It means to really, really believe.” This is too vague. Believe in what? Sincerity is not enough, for as we see in the Bible, the Pharisees were sincere, but sincerely wrong – and they crucified our Messiah. “It means to do the best you can, and leave the rest up to Yahweh.” This answer comes closest than the others, especially since the others don’t mention trusting Elohim; but it is still lacking. Now let’s look at several EXAMPLES OF FAITH in action from the Scriptures. Hebrews chapter eleven tells us a lot about people who walked in faith – they gave evidence for their faith. For instance, Noah believed that Yahweh would send the Flood, so he built an ark. Abraham believed Yahweh and left his home country to go to a place he knew nothing of. Moses left the pleasures of Egypt to fulfill Elohim’s will with the children of Israel. In each case, these men heard Elohim speaking to them, and they took action. To “walk” in faith means that we are taking concrete steps regarding that faith. Noah believed in the coming Flood, though he had never seen one before – so building that ark was a huge step of faith! So walking in faith is not just believing in something. That’s why James 2:26 tells us, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Accumulating Bible knowledge WITHOUT acting on that knowledge is dead faith. Yahshua gave us many promises regarding prayer. Do we believe those promises? If our prayer life is weak, then obviously we don’t think much of them, otherwise we would pray often and with purpose. Do we believe that those who live according to the flesh will not enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of Yahweh (Galatians 5:19-21)? If our lives revolve around fleshly pursuits rather than taking Elohim at His word, then we are unbelieving. We are not walking in faith. Romans 11, tells of faith’s origin. It comes by hearing Yahweh speak to you via Yahweh’s word. In other words, faith doesn’t come from self but from Yahweh. When we read the word or hear it preached and find Yahweh speaking to us, then faith comes. When we respond to Yahweh, as Noah did when he built the ark, we walk by faith. We put our faith in action. Faith is not just believing but being convinced that Yahweh has spoken and one must act on it. We may be worried about something, read a promise of Yahweh’s love and care, and in faith gladly turn the trouble over to Yahweh and trust Him with it. That’s walking by faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. When we follow through on our body’s cravings or personal knowledge or senses such as sight or other resources, we are not necessarily walking in faith. Rather, we may be walking (or living by or depending on) our fleshly senses instead of trusting in Yahweh. When we became children of Yahweh, a new way of receiving information was opened to us. Some call it revelation. The Holy Spirit speaks to us to lead us (John 14:26). He will teach things that go against the natural order we’ve been accustomed to (Romans 8:13). When we follow his leading instead of our natural resources then we are walking by faith. We are in effect trusting Yahweh more than ourselves, pleasing Yahweh more than self. How important is walking by faith? Because “without faith, it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). The Pharisees could not accept the new wine of walking by faith, so Yahshua turned to a group of men who would learn to trust him and accept that wine. Yahshua calls us to a life of faith. It is the narrow road that leads to pleasing Yahweh and eternal life. Shalom
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 10:17:09 +0000
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