God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

The online definition of faith is: complete trust or confidence. The Bible’s definition of faith is:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”(Heb 11:1 NIV)

Belief in God is an act of faith. In order to believe in God we need to hear the Word of God. After this, it’s up to us how much faith  we have and what we do with our faith.

“The point is, Before you trust you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there is nothing to listen to.” (Rom 10:17 MSG)*

If you are the type of person who, for whatever reason, refuses to hear anyone talk about Scripture, you my friend, are limiting the fullness of your life.

Just as we must eat properly and exercise to improve our health, we can feed our faith by learning Scripture. After “feeding” on the Word of God, God can touch our heart in such a way that we know what we are reading is true. Once we gain confidence in the Bible, we can step out in faith and trust that God really is who He says He is and He will do, that which He says He will do.

No one else can increase our faith in God- it is up to us.

“But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1: 6-8)

“…God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you–you of little faith!” (Luke 12:28)

So why should we grow in our faith? When we learn to trust God day by day, we can give more of our life choices to Him, knowing His ways are best and His ways lead us away from problems and towards a peaceful, content and fulfilled life. This is called obedience to the way of the Lord.

Obedience then opens us up to be filled more with His Holy Spirit, which has the power to help us overcome all obstacles in life. Obstacles like addictions, low self esteem, confusion, disillusionment, discouragement, illness, lust, poverty, holding grudges, selfish ambition, drunkeness, hate and all the negative emotions/behaviors of life. Keep in mind however, that when we backslide into sin, the Holy Spirit recedes and thus peace in our hearts recedes and our supernatural help is limited. So we must be humble and ask for forgiveness for our humanness,  it is for our benefit!

Followers of the Lord need to believe that they can overcome everything, for it is written “…greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.”(1 John 4:4NIV)  Satan lives in the world and this evil force is influencing people to do harmful, hateful and egregious acts, much like the act that crucified Jesus. But, Jesus showed His power by rising from the dead and He told us that the power that accomplished that feat, also is available to us through faith and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Nothing is too difficult for us to overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit’s power within us. I have heard and seen in my circle of aquaintances, spontaneous healings of cancer and broken bones as well as a complete reversal of an addiction.  The limiting factor in our ability to overcome things such as these, is our faith.

God is omnipotent and His power can intercede and defy the natural laws of the Universe. You must have child like faith to believe the wisdom in the Bible and if you do, these profound blessings can be a reality in your life.

“Oh Father Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves wise and clever, and giving it to the childlike, it pleased you to do it that way.”(Matt 11:25 NLT)

“If you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”(Prov 2:4-6)

Exercise your faith. Believe the promises God gave us in the Bible. Surrender your choices to God so He can lead you to a better life, one filled with peace in your heart and hope for your future. It is a life that includes having enough of everything including security and health to enjoy it.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19)

Have a wonderful week!

Lisa

*I have never used The Message Bible for a Scriptural example because it is a paraphrase of the Bible and not the actual Word of God.  This verse however does a better job of conveying my point than the other translations, therefore I used it.