One of the most important issues in a person’s life is faith especially in times of trouble and pain. The Bible never says that life will always be good or easy but instead, does promise us that God will always be with us through it all. One of the key ingredients in a life with Christ is faith. Hebrews 11:1 explains what faith is: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This definition is significant as we are unable to see everything that is going on in life. There are many things behind the scenes that we are unable to identify or understand and it’s much easier to simply have faith or trust the plan. Maybe a plan is the best way to see things as we are all mold and God is molding us into something more. This is what I think of when I read about the adventures of Abraham and other stories within scripture: a plan.
No, not our plan but rather, God’s plan. Isaiah 55:8 reads “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Abraham did not know what to expect when God told him to sacrifice Isaac but rather than doubt what was in store, he simply trusted God. Of course, this was not easy to do but Abraham knew God and all that He had done for him. His faith was strong and although God was asking him to do something that did not make any sense whatsoever, he followed suited but more importantly, he continued to listen to God and was obedient.
Imagine if Abraham did not have faith in God and did not listen for His voice. Imagine if Abraham had only listened to half of what God had to say. If Abraham had taken Isaac to the mountain but stopped after this, Abraham may have committed an atrocity that was not meant to happen. This sounds like what happens to many of us in our lives. We do not listen to what God has to say or, if we do listen, we only listen to half of what God says especially when we do not get the answer that we are seeking and sadly, I am guilty of this more times than just once.
Sadly, many people base what they have been through and their dealings with other people to gauge their comprehension and understanding of God which is obviously the wrong approach to have. We, as humans, are unable to fully apprehend God and all that He is able to do and rather than trust Him, we limit Him and this is something that we must not do. Romans 8:5-6 reads ” For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Rather than making things so difficult and complicated, we need to simply just take God at His word. This is a most difficult thing to do because people are not trusting of others when it comes to different aspects of their lives. Many think that they know what is best for their lives and all that they do but when we tell God what we have planned, He often looks down and either shakes His head or laughs, maybe both. Jeremiah 29:11 reads “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
One of the best stories of this is the story of Noah, the ark and the flood. God instructed Noah to build an ark and gave him the exact dimensions to make it and he had one-hundred and twenty years (120) to finish it. No, this does not mean that it took Noah all of these years to finish it but rather, this was the countdown to the flood. There are different estimates on how long it took Noah and maybe even more amazing is the fact that God handed down such instructions before any of his children were born. This is an interesting fact because it goes to show just how God works.
In other words, God has already got it all planned and we simply have to trust Him. This does not make it easy to do as life is not easy and while life may not come with an instruction manual, God provides His holy word as a way to help us through all things. We must remember that God never changes as the things that He has done are the things that He will continue to do. Yes, we must do our part but when we have done our part, we must trust God and just rely on Him as He is always right on time….just like a plan. If there is one thing that I’ve learned in this life is God’s plan is much better than our plan.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
–Hebrews 11:1
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