TRUE FAITH

All things being equal, this blog post should have ended the John 13 series. However, I perceived that God would have us learn or relearn one of the toughest lessons I learnt recently. You would agree with me that oftentimes when we think about faith, a beautiful picture is painted in our minds. For example, Abraham believes God for a child; He gets Isaac, and everyone is happy. However, having only this ideology is a catalyst for heartbreaks because it is incomplete. 

What then, is the missing piece? 🧩

Apostle Paul helps us answer this question in Hebrews chapter 11.   He shows us in verses 36 – 38 that men who obtained a good report through faith experienced – trials, afflictions, and other sufferings. 

Verse 37 - 38 says, “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,”. The faith gospel is complete by combining it with Hebrews 11:34, where the Bible states that through faith men – “quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens”.

Thus, a complete understanding of faith is to realize that having faith as a Christian doesn’t exempt you from sufferings, trials, and tribulations. However, it is in believing that Jesus is true, and he loves you whether you get what you want or not.

Personal experience: I sensed that God was leading me to partake in some competitions and I saw manifestations of victory in them more than once. Excitedly, I began working on them. I put a great deal of effort but physically and spiritually, almost at the expense of my health. I was certain of victory. I thought because I was walking in faith, I wouldn’t experience heartbreaks. However, when the results came, I was rejected. Very pained, I went back to God and began to ask questions. He led me to Hillsong’s New Wine Song, Hebrews 11, and made me understand He is still God and true irrespective of what I experience. I understood that even in the crushing process 🍇, he is making new wine. 

Jesus said in John 16:33 that we would have tribulations in this world, but we should be of good cheer for we have overcome the world. Quoting this verse seems easy until one is faced with a practical experience. Like Peter, faith in God can enable us to access and manifest unimaginable things such as walking on water, but it can also expose us to mighty storms and waves 🌊. Nevertheless, with eyes fixed on Jesus, we won’t sink. Let’s keep believing.

Prayer: Lord, I obtain grace to keep believing in you irrespective of what comes my way.

Please, if you have any questions, contributions, or Bible verses related to this post, I will love to hear from you in the comment section.

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I would love to have you next time on the Tri-partite Blog. Cheers to knowing God more🍻.