Live Love LeadSample

“Part 4: A Glorious Future - A Robust Faith” The key to your glorious future is in your faith. It is one thing to say you believe, and quite another to act on what you believe as though it is already true. What do you do when you are praying for something and things appear unchanged or even deteriorating? That’s when you discover whether you have developed faith that refuses to quit or let go of the promises of God’s Word. To survive life’s harshest blows your faith must be robust, and resilient. The word robust means “strong and healthy; hardy and vigorous.” Hebrews 11 begins by defining its focus: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony”(v1-2). These elders of the faith included Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samuel, David and many others. Their “good testimony” is the legacy of faith they left, the story of how they trusted God in the midst of overwhelming ordeals and obstacles. They were not a superior species but normal men and women with fears and faults. Clearly, it wasn’t their strength that caused the victories. It was actually despite their weaknesses that God enabled them to do amazing feats: conquer kingdoms, overcome lions, quench fires, dodge swords, and win battles when overwhelmingly outnumbered (Heb. 11:33–34). That is definitely courageous faith! The Bible frequently talks about a “fight” of faith. Romans 8:37 calls us “more than conquerors”, and if so then we know that we will face mountains and battles that we must conquer. How can we be overcomers if there is nothing to overcome? If life had no hurdles or challenges, faith would have no purpose. It is easy to have faith when everything is going well, but courageous and robust faith is forged only through testing. To move into your glorious future, there will be times when you will need to have courageous and robust faith. No doubt, you will have opportunities to exercise the courage to share your faith, to do the right thing, to live well, lead well and love well in the face of challenges, and hold firm to God’s promises. Prayer: Lord, I won’t be dismayed when challenges come. The Word of God says that my faith will be refined by the fire and Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.