Faith in God is the game-changer in this journey of life. Not having it will set us on a course of regression and devastation but having faith in our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ will keep us standing strong in the middle of the most difficult storms of life. In the Gospels, when the disciples tried to aid a father whose son was possessed by a demon, they could not cast the demon out and asked Jesus about it. Matthew 17:20(NLT) tells us our Master’s reply: “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” In order to increase their faith, the disciples needed to know more about the power and authority of Christ. This was required so that they could believe and walk in his power in a greater way. We must do the same.
If you and I don’t receive any knowledge about faith and the potency of God’s power that faith in Him will bring into our circumstances, then we are without the knowledge to live powerfully. It is impossible for a human being to live and operate above the knowledge they currently possess. So, if we don’t have the right knowledge about faith, we will never rise to believe God in the way that He requires.
Jesus Christ said in John 18:36(NLT), “But my Kingdom is not of this world.” The world cannot teach us about faith because the world doesn’t know anything about it. The world’s specialty is fear, but the culture of God’s Kingdom is faith and gratitude. God commands us Romans 12:2(NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Heavenly Father tells us to renew our minds to His Word, and this requires us to change the way we think. As we begin to read and study God’s Word, we will recognize that we’ve been programmed by the world to think like it does. Through Christ, God has made it possible for us to operate on a whole other level. It’s living through Christ, and this means we must disconnect from the world’s programming. We must put on the mind of Christ so that we can know and live according to God’s Will.
God intends our lives to prove that His Will is exactly what it is, good, pleasing, and perfect. He guarantees that if we live by the example of Christ, our lives will be more than abundant in every way. This is His promise, but the university of the world system teaches us to live completely opposite of faith, and this enslaves us and robs us of our liberty in Christ. We are taught to live in fear and become totally dependent on what the world can give us. This is exactly what the devil wants. The world system is ruled by satan, and it seeks to enslave our minds so that we remain blind to the truth of God’s Word, which sets us free.
In most civilized societies, we’re taught to value education, to value going to school to learn information. Society correctly assumes that the more we know, the more intelligent and productive we will be to society and to ourselves. So, it’s a given that most of us will begin to pursue education not long after we learn to walk and talk. Although it may not always be spoken, this connection between knowledge and success is understood by most every human being on the planet. There’s also another extremely important aspect of learning that is commonly understood. It’s the fact that the level of knowledge we obtain in the educational system is going to be tested. Because of this testing, it’s pretty much an unchallenged fact that if you and I learn to study effectively, and do lots of it, we will pass the test and move on to the next level. This works precisely the same way when it comes to the rewards of studying and reading God’s Word.
A passing score is the hope, but a high score is the achievement that assures we’re prepared. A high score signifies that we’ve grasped what’s been taught, and that the knowledge is firmly under our belts. If we break this down a little further, and get an up-close visual on the student, we’d probably see the person spend hours studying the material. The student applies themselves in this way because he or she recognizes that without studying, we’re not prepared to pass the test.
Why is it that we can clearly understand the expectations of the world’s system of education, and we wholeheartedly avail ourselves to it, but sadly, we will not give God the same diligence and loyalty when it comes to studying His Word. There is nothing greater and more powerful in all of eternity that the truth of God’s Word. God magnifies His Word above His name, because He is unfathomably, more than 50 billion percent, loyal to His Word.
Hebrews 4:12(NLT), tells us, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” God’s Word is life to us! We are commanded to build our lives on it so that when we are tested by the devil with tricks and plots, we can respond with “It is written…” just like Jesus did when he was tempted in the wilderness.
God commands us in 2Timothy 2:15(NIV) to study and “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” It’s our responsibility to demonstrate in the presence of God that we are making His Word a priority in our lives. We should approach it with a diligence that exceeds the level we devote to learning about the world. The greatest subject in the University of life is learning to be an ambassador for Christ. Get a high score in the subject of faith! Study God’s Word and learn more about Christ. Make this your prime motivation in life. When you do, you’ll prove that you are following God’s Will, and He’ll reward you with blessings above anything you could ever ask or think.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Show Yourself Approved before God”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.