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God wants us to have faith. Faith never comes without knowing God properly. It was the same with the ancestors of faith. Only after understanding God correctly did they start to have true faith.
We think that we ourselves believe in God properly. However, if we do not understand God’s almightiness, we will end up confessing our faith with our mouths alone and failing to have faith in our hearts. Through the Bible, let’s learn the faith that is good enough for God to dwell and work in our hearts and keep the true faith.
Before and after realizing the Almighty God
When God told Gideon to save Israel from the hands of the Midianites, he refused, saying, “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Gideon had believed in God just like his ancestors, but when he was chosen for a mission by God, he was afraid and had no confidence at first. Then God showed Gideon some manifestations of His power to help him recognize His omnipotence. The moment Gideon experienced God’s power, his way of thinking and living changed completely. He came to believe that God would surely help him if he just obeyed God’s command, and he was able to win a great victory in the battle against the Midianites (Judges 6–8).
It was the same with Moses. When God entrusted him with the mission of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, he rejected it at first, saying, “Lord, I am a mere shepherd. How can I stand against Pharaoh? As You know, I am slow of speech and tongue.”
As for those who claim to believe in God but do not know what kind of being He is, they feel afraid when they are called by God, and they reject God’s call. When God entrusts something to us, it doesn’t mean that we should do it with our own abilities, but it means He will do it through us, right?
Our ancestors depended on God and followed God’s will. As a result, 300 men defeated 135,000 enemy soldiers, and the deep Red Sea was parted for the Israelites so that they could go through the sea on dry ground. Actually, however, they didn’t have such strong faith at first. They had no faith when they thought, ‘How can I do it?’ Moses and Gideon started to have true faith from the moment they recognized God’s existence correctly and realized that Almighty God was helping them.
It was the same with Job. He was a man of faith praiseworthy before God. However, his faith began to fade as he lost all his possessions and even his health overnight. When he argued with his friends, he poured out ungracious words. God corrected his thinking through Elihu, and spoke to him out of the storm, carefully reminding him that He created all things including the environment.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Look at all creatures on the earth. Who has given behemoths their strength? Do you know why the ostrich lays eggs anywhere on the ground and moves around randomly, having no maternal instinct? Who draws up the drops of water, distills rain from the mist, and makes it fall on the earth? Who has done it all?”
Job lamented his misfortune when he only thought about his own pain. However, the moment he felt God’s almighty power deep in his heart, his faith began to grow again. He also came to realize that when the great Creator gave him hardship, it surely contained His providence of salvation for him. Finally, Job reproached himself and repented before God, saying, “You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ ” (Job 42:1–6).
Without faith it is impossible to please God
‘God is guiding me. Why am I suffering, then?’ Those who do not understand God’s almightiness come to grumble and complain.
The Israelites did so on their way to Canaan. In the situation where the Red Sea was blocking the way in front of them and the Egyptian army was pursuing them from behind, they did not think of God but focused only on their own inconveniences and discomforts. As a result, they poured out their complaints. By day God led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire. They saw the works of God every day, but they didn’t believe in God’s almightiness. God has taught us not to follow their example (1 Co 10:1–12). Actually, there was a way in the Red Sea as well. That’s why God led them there, right? With God, nothing is an obstacle; it is the way.
It is God who created us, and it is also God who has opened the way to the eternal kingdom of heaven for us. God is the object of our faith; we must not commit the error of thinking that God exerts no influence in the real world. Those who have faith always think of God and look to Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Heb 11:6–8
No one can please God without faith. How can we see God correctly if we think only of our own suffering and consider it an urgent priority to deal with the obstacles right in front of us? When we forget God, we cannot grow in faith, nor can we experience the world of faith.
Let’s think about Noah. If he had only considered his own situation, he would never have been able to understand the world of faith. Some scholars estimate that it took between 40-120 years for him to build the ark with the shipbuilding technology of his time. The Bible simply records that he built the ark. However, it must have been very hard for him. Despite disapproving looks, ridicule, and hindrance from the people around him, Noah thought of God rather than his own situation and carried out the work, only looking to God. He is a good example of faith. Finally, Noah’s ark served as a place of salvation; Noah and his family were saved, when all the other people were judged and destroyed by water.
Abraham believed absolutely in God’s almightiness, too. ‘God knew me even before my body was formed, and leads me to the eternal world through His providence of salvation which I do not understand.’ Since he firmly believed this, he obeyed and went when God called him to a place, even though he did not know where he was going. He entrusted everything to God, although he did not know where to go and what to do.
Changes through faith
Do you wonder if you have the same kind of faith as that of Noah and Abraham? If you do, ask yourself what you think about God. If you literally understand God the Creator of all things, based on your knowledge of the Bible, you just have a theoretical belief. When you realize deep in your heart that God is almighty, then you can be said to have true faith. We must forsake the theoretical belief and have substantial practical faith.
In the Bible, let’s see some cases of people who pleased God with faith.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored . . . Mt 9:27–30
Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. Mt 9:19–22
When Jesus said to the two blind men, “According to your faith will it be done to you,” their sight was restored. It’s because they had 100% faith in Jesus. It was the same with the bleeding woman. Jesus said to her, “Your faith has healed you.” By this He meant that she had enough faith to receive the grace of salvation.
Every word of the Bible was written to teach us (Ro 15:4). God let the works of our ancestors of faith be written in the Bible. It’s because He wants us to have the same kind of faith as theirs, right?
Only when we have faith can we realize the work of God and experience the joy of faith. Otherwise, we will suffer more and more as we walk further and further into our desert journey. From a physical point of view, our path is a thorny, rough path—the path of the cross, but it is the path to heaven. So, our souls should be joyful every day. Only when we have faith can we feel joy.
Faith that treasures God
We are living in the world of faith, but sometimes we forget the greatness and almightiness of God and try to do things with our own abilities. In any and all circumstances, we must remember God’s almightiness. God can do all things by Himself, but He has entrusted us with the mission of preaching the gospel. Understanding the will of God fully, let us continue in God’s grace.
“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways . . .” Job 22:21–29
If you have a treasure in your house, your heart is always where the treasure is. The Bible tells us to make God our treasure. This means that we should always pay attention to God. Those who do not treasure God always think about themselves, filled with earthly worries, so they cannot have faith.
We are angels who have come down to this earth as a result of committing sin in heaven and are spending time in repentance. Although we are now living in the flesh, we will take off the tent of this body and reign forever with Heavenly Father and Mother. This glorious future is waiting for us. We must not lose the glory of heaven by focusing on living more comfortably and affluently than others on this earth.
God can always make our path smooth, but sometimes He puts an obstacle in our path. Think about what a mom does when she teaches her toddler to walk. Her arms must be the most comfortable place for her baby. However, she stands her baby up a little distance away and keeps calling him to come toward her. Thus, she encourages her baby to pull himself up to stand on his feet and walk on his own, though it may be troublesome for him. As the baby bears weight on his legs and walks with a waddle, his bones become stronger and his muscles start to develop. It is the same spiritually. God is guiding and helping us so that we can attain a mature faith and go back to heaven.
In the parable of Jesus, the prodigal son did not think of his home at all when he enjoyed a dissolute life with his father’s property in a distant country. However, he soon spent everything and became so impoverished that he couldn’t even eat the pods which were used as food for cattle. Only then did he think of his home. This shows us God’s will: God wants us not to forget Him and our spiritual home even in difficult situations. We must believe this. So the Bible says that whatever we decide on will be done and light will shine on our ways if we make God our treasure. Understanding the providence of God even in the face of adversity and hardship, we should always be joyful and give thanks in all circumstances. By doing so, we must follow the path God leads us on, as God’s holy people.
Is anything too hard for God?
Let’s take a look at God’s teaching on what kind of faith we should have.
Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” Ge 18:10–15
Sarah thought she couldn’t have a child, based only on her experiences here on earth. Then God helped her realize that there is nothing too hard for Him. He said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” This became an important turning point for both Sarah and Abraham to have greater faith.
To God, the nations of the earth are merely a drop in a bucket and a speck of dust on the scales. We must not forget that our God made the sea and land, and that He rained down food from heaven to feed 600,000 men and their families in the desert for 40 years.
With this kind of faith and pride, let’s preach the gospel boldly. When we go out to preach, we do not deliver our own message but proclaim the new covenant which God has given us for the healing of the nations—for the salvation of human beings. We shouldn’t be disappointed even though we don’t produce any fruit right away. In actuality, we are in the process of bearing fruit. If you heat water, you can see no visible result until its temperature reaches 99℃. However, with a little more effort—just one extra degree, the water starts to turn into visible vapor.
We must not trust our own abilities but make God our treasure all the time, so that we can graciously achieve everything in the world of faith that God unfolds. We have God the Father and God the Mother. Is anything too hard for God the Father and God the Mother? Our God, who leads us to the eternal heavenly Canaan with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, is great and almighty. When we correctly recognize this fact and have faith, then we can be courageous and bold like Gideon and Moses and can obey God absolutely as Noah and Abraham did.
Only when we make God our treasure and pay attention to God can we have true faith. Then what we decide on will be done, and when we preach the gospel, we will surely bear good fruit. As the people of Zion, let us firmly believe that our God is the Almighty God and fear our God with true faith, so we can accomplish the mission of preaching to seven billion people as quickly as possible.