1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We are glad to have 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 2: you listening with us. Today's topic is about faith and 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 2: trusting when we can't see. We'll return with the devotional 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 2: after a brief message from our sponsors. When faith means 6 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 2: trusting what we can't see, written and read by Hannah Benson. Now, 7 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 2: faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction 8 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 2: of things not seen Hebrew's eleven to one esb. This 9 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 2: well known verse comes right before what is often called 10 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 2: the Hall of Faith in the Bible. In Hebrews eleven, 11 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 2: the writer recalls the faith of many of the people 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 2: from the Old Testament, including Noah, Abraham and Sarah, cheek 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: of Joseph, Moses, and the list goes on. Faith is 14 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 2: a common theme woven throughout scripture, and we know, as 15 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 2: believers we are called to have faith. We are called 16 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 2: to put our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and 17 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 2: for the cleansing of our sin Romans three twenty three 18 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 2: through twenty five, Acts fifteen, verse nine. While that is 19 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 2: the foundation of our faith, in addition, it does extend 20 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 2: other areas of our lives. Because Jesus knew we would 21 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 2: be prone to worry. He told us to have faith 22 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 2: that God will provide what we need for tomorrow. Matthew 23 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,279 Speaker 2: six twenty five through thirty four. We must have faith 24 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 2: for healing James five fourteenth through fifteen, and for strength 25 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 2: and endurance Tewod Corinthians twelve nine. But what exactly does 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 2: it mean to have faith? God is not a genie, 27 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 2: so it's not as if we can somehow procure enough 28 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 2: faith and make something happen. After all, like Roman's eleven 29 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 2: thirty five es V says, for who has known the 30 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, 31 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 2: or who has given a gift to him, that he 32 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 2: might be repaid for from him, and throw him into him, 33 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 2: or all things and for by grace, who have been 34 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 2: saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. 35 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: It is the gift of God, not a result of work, 36 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 2: So that no one may boast Ephesians two eight through nine. 37 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 2: In short, faith is a gift. Faith is not a 38 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 2: feeling that we can muster up. Imagine if it were 39 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 2: up to us how much faith we were given, we 40 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 2: would become arrogant because we would start to think if 41 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 2: God answered our prayer the way we wanted that perhaps 42 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: we were more righteous or had more faith than the 43 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 2: other person who didn't receive a yes from God. If 44 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 2: it were up to us to have enough faith, then 45 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: that would make us somehow God, and we're clearly not. 46 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 2: Faith is a gift that comes from hearing the word 47 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 2: of Christ to Romans ten seventeen, by God's grace. The 48 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 2: Holy Spirit is the one who opens our eyes as 49 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,679 Speaker 2: we read God's word, John fourteen twenty six. In Mark 50 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 2: nine twenty three, Jesus tells a father whose son is 51 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 2: possessed by a demon that all things are possible for 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 2: one who believes, to which the father replies in verse 53 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 2: twenty four, I believe. Help my unbelief. We need Jesus's 54 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 2: help to have faith, faith that we have been saved 55 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 2: by the work of His blood on the cross, for 56 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 2: his provision and for healing. Sometimes we need to have 57 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 2: faith to pursue something other it's deemed crazy. Maybe God 58 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 2: calls us to accept a job with less pay or 59 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 2: remove halfway across the country. Yes, we absolutely need to 60 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 2: make wise decisions. But if God calls us to do something, 61 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 2: no matter how crazy it sounds, do it. However, we 62 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 2: must be in continual prayers, we discern what is truly 63 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 2: from God, because a word from the Lord will never 64 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 2: contradict his word given to us in the Bible. What 65 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 2: do we do when God doesn't always answer our prayers 66 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 2: the way we expect? Even the people in Scripture were 67 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 2: forced to wait or accept and know from God. Abraham 68 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 2: and Sarah waited for years to have child world. David 69 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 2: became king years after Samuel had anointed him. Moses never 70 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 2: got to enter the Promised land. Paul begged God to 71 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 2: remove the thorn from his life, but God didn't. Instead, 72 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 2: he said, my grace is sufficient for you, for my 73 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 2: power is made perfect in weakness Sewo Corinthians twelve nine ESV. 74 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 2: Even though David prayed, wept and fasted, his and Bathsheba's 75 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 2: first son died. How do we make sense of that? 76 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 2: Sometimes we might think if we receive a no from God, 77 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 2: then we didn't have enough faith. But Scripture shows us 78 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 2: that there could be lots of reasons for no. We 79 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 2: aren't God and can't see the full picture. So maybe 80 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 2: he's protecting us from something, Maybe he is something better 81 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 2: in mind. I've also heard it said that God is 82 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 2: far more interested in who we are becoming than the 83 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 2: earthly destination we are heading towards faith during the waiting 84 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 2: season sometimes produces a maturity A yes, never could. I 85 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,799 Speaker 2: would even go so far as to say what matters 86 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 2: is isn't about getting what we want from God, but 87 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 2: about getting more of God. Nothing draws me to the 88 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,840 Speaker 2: presence of Jesus more like a no or a wait. 89 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 2: What if we aren't simply called to have faith for something, 90 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: but to have faith when God says no, to have 91 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 2: faith that His ways are higher than our thoughts Isaiah 92 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 2: fifty five eight. And then perhaps his no is a 93 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 2: blessing in disguise and the preparation for a different Yes. 94 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 2: We can't see it. And this is the confidence that 95 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 2: we have toward Him that if we ask anything according 96 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 2: to his will, he hears us. And if we know 97 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 2: that he hears us, and whatever we ask, we know 98 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 2: that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 99 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 2: First John five point fourteen through fifteen ESB. Note that 100 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 2: it says if we ask anything according to his will, 101 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 2: this is not about forcing our will to become God's will. No. Instead, 102 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 2: it is an invitation for God's will to become our own. 103 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 2: Intersecting faith and life. A couple of years ago, that 104 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 2: was something I wanted, but didn't have the faith to 105 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 2: pray for what I thought could be the end result. Rather, 106 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 2: God gave me faith to pray for the next step, 107 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 2: which may or may not eventually lead to the end result, 108 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: which I did, and you know what, God opened the 109 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 2: door for the next step. Two years later. My prayers 110 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 2: are bolder, as God has given me the faith to 111 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 2: pray for things I never would have prayed for back then. 112 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 2: Sometimes God doesn't give us faith for everything all at once. 113 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 2: He's his tiny portions of faith. But like any gift, 114 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 2: faith is a gift that must be stewarded. After all, 115 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 2: as Paul Rife and two Timothy one fourteen ESV, by 116 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good 117 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 2: deposit and trusted to you. That includes the faith that 118 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 2: has been given to us. Faith might mean taking one 119 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 2: step at a time, even when we can't see the 120 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 2: path ahead. Faith might mean trust in God's no is 121 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 2: sometimes greater than his yes. Pray with me, Dear Father God, 122 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 2: thank you for the gift of faith. I confess that 123 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 2: I often try to muster it up in my own 124 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 2: strength or treat you like a genie who exists to 125 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 2: grant my wishes. Forgive me for the times I valued 126 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 2: the yes more than the giver. Thank you for the 127 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 2: Holy Spirit who opens my eyes to your word. Help 128 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,679 Speaker 2: me to steward the measure of faith you have given 129 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 2: me today when I face a know or await. Draw 130 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 2: me closer into your presence. Align my heart with yours 131 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 2: so that your will. 132 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: Becomes my own. 133 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 2: Give me the courage to take the next step you 134 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 2: have set before me, even when I cannot see the 135 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 2: rest of the path. I trust that your ways are 136 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 2: higher than mine, and that you are making me into 137 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 2: who you want me to be. In Jesus' name, Amen. 138 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: The crosswalkd OF is a production of Life Audio and 139 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: Salem Media. If you liked what you heard today, please 140 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: take a second to rate and review this podcast in 141 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: your favorite podcast app so that more listeners like you 142 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: can find the show. For more faith filled inspirational podcasts, 143 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: visit us at lifeaudio dot com.