Faith isn't a favour.
There's so much in the Bible about trusting God, no matter how ludicrous it seems.
I've been reading Genesis, and it was the theme that kept popping out to me:
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."
(Genesis 18:10-15)
When Lot and his family were escaping from Sodom:
Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:24-26)
They were the sole survivors of of the land that God had rescued specially, something which she could not trust. Look how she turned out.
And on to the New Testament: to another verse that's been floating on my facebook profile for quite a while:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:5-8)
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
(Luke 9:62)
These are only a few among many more examples.
It's an insult to God when we doubt. So just don't do it. Don't think of having faith and believing in him as a favour to God, but something that we should have, as a basis, and without question! Keep remembering this in an age where miracles are happening all around us and we are either too blind to notice or thank God for a few minutes and turn away and forget about it the next moment.
I've been reading Genesis, and it was the theme that kept popping out to me:
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."
(Genesis 18:10-15)
When Lot and his family were escaping from Sodom:
Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:24-26)
They were the sole survivors of of the land that God had rescued specially, something which she could not trust. Look how she turned out.
And on to the New Testament: to another verse that's been floating on my facebook profile for quite a while:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:5-8)
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
(Luke 9:62)
These are only a few among many more examples.
It's an insult to God when we doubt. So just don't do it. Don't think of having faith and believing in him as a favour to God, but something that we should have, as a basis, and without question! Keep remembering this in an age where miracles are happening all around us and we are either too blind to notice or thank God for a few minutes and turn away and forget about it the next moment.
3:21 PM
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