Nevermind How It Looks

All throughout the Bible there are stories of how God showed himself strong in the lives of people who chose to trust in him, regardless as to how things looked.  And if we are to have any real, definite, supernatural victories in our lives, we have to follow suit.  We’re encouraged not to throw away our confidence because it will be richly rewarded.  We need to persevere so that when we have done the will of God, we’ll receive what he’s promised (Heb 10:35-36).  We’re told that the righteous will live by faith (Heb 10:38).  And faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.  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 (Heb 11:1; 6).  With God, you have what you don’t see, and it’s eternal, and what you do see is temporary (2 Co 4:18; 5:7).  We have to keep in mind that we see in part (1 Co 14:12). 

Abraham was blessed with innumerable descendants after trusting that God’s way was best.  When he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice his only son, he was provided a ram instead (Gen 22:1-19).  Here’s a man that waited his whole life to have an heir, and it looked as though God was taking back what he’d blessed him with.  And as a result of him trusting in God, Abraham not only kept his son, but also gained a countless amount of (spiritual) heirs to bear his name!  God doesn’t just do it; he overdoes it! 

It looked as though the things God had showed Joseph in his dreams wouldn’t come to pass after his brothers had sold him into slavery, but they did (Gen 37-42).  Joshua, a mill worker, became a military hero after following God’s direction.  With the power of God, he and a handful of men defeated the mighty army of Jericho by basically yelling at them (Joshua 1-6).  By faith, a shepherd boy, armed with nothing but a staff, sling and the name of the Almighty God, defeated an army, to include a giant (1 Sam 17:1-58, which is my three-year-old niece’s favorite Bible story, no doubt).  Job was restored twice the amount he’d originally had after trusting in God during his test (Job 42:10).  Satan said, ‘He will surely curse you to your face’, but Job’s response to all of this was, ‘Though God slay me, I will still hope in him’ (Job 1:11; 13:15).  Throughout his test Job testified that God was faithful and just, and if there was any fault at all, it was his own.  He knew who his God was, and stood on it!  It looked as though Mary had fooled around on Joseph, but God sent the angel Gabriel to put both Mary and Joseph at ease, and they were blessed with the responsibility of raising God’s very own son, by following the word that the angel spoke to them (Mt 1:18-25). 

And it appeared as though Christ was defeated on Cavalry, but in fact, he’s the victor, and so are we through him (Mt 27:32-28:20; Ro 5:1)!