Have you ever thought about it? ...really thought about it? The Word of God, the Bible, tells us in Hebrews Chapter 11 that God created the Universe out of NOTHING! How can that be? I would venture to say that fact is incapable of being understood by the natural human mind. We, being human have an existence confined to planet earth except for an occasional trip into our known space environment. The illustration in this post shows the size of the earth in comparison with the rest of the universe. It takes something called FAITH to believe God did what he said he did. The Bible also says that every man has been given a measure of faith. It even takes faith to believe you have been given that measure of faith. We are told in Matthew Chapter 17 that if we have faith like a grain of mustard seed we can move mountains. Although I cannot claim an in-depth study on the plants in existence in Jesus day, a brief study brought to mind the "mustard seed" Jesus spoke of could be planted one day and begin growing the next. If God is, in fact, the source and the object of our faith... that faith can begin to grow at the first recognition of its planting in our hearts. Of course, the first recognition would be the initial, albeit small, belief in the existence of God. The Prophet Elijah was a man, in other words human as we ourselves. He prayed for rain because there was a drought in the land. His "mustard seed" was a "cloud the size of a man's hand" 1 Kings 18. That cloud began to grow and became a torrential rain! Simon, the Magician in the book of Acts, Chapter 8 "saw" that the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of hands by the Apostles. He saw miracles and signs and wonders happening by them and he wanted to purchase that unseen something that was the cause of those miracles. He didn't see the Spirit because the Spirit is Spirit but he saw the evidence of the Spirit. We can't see the "nothing" that God spoke out of, but we can see the evidence of it through the whole creation around us. Now we know faith is actually substance and evidence according to Hebrews 11:6. And if we have faith... even the beginning of it, Jesus told us we can "move mountains" and that "nothing will be impossible for us" ...Matthew 17. Therefore, since God cannot lie and his Word is true we can trust that what we cannot see with the eye, actually exists. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's Glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:7&8. Simon, the magician, being a new believer, didn't understand that the gifts of the Spirit were not given for selfish gain nor could they be bought with a price. He learned that the Spirit is a gift and a gift has no price and this particular gift was to be used to bring praise and honor to the Giver, God himself. A couple of the things we cannot see with our physical eyes are, the forgiveness of sins and Heaven. Sometimes we cannot see with our eyes, physical healing when it involves the internal part of our body until, through God given medical science, it shows up in some scan or x-ray. We cannot see love but we believe when someone tells us they love us, they are telling us the truth. Eventually we are able to see the fruit or results of our faith or belief. Even when we arrive in Heaven we receive the Goal of our Faith which is the Salvation of our Souls. Until that time of "receiving", we walk in Faith, at times with no tangible evidence of what we are believing. Recently, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. That began a new off-shoot in my journey of Faith. I call it an off-shoot because my main, most traveled road is directly aimed at God Himself. "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day." Proverbs 4:18. My foremost and of utmost importance is my journey toward a deeper and more intimate relationship and knowledge of my Father God and His Son Jesus Christ and His Awesome Holy Spirit... the Three in One of the Godhead. Along that journey, I am faced with side roads that vie for my attention and challenge my faith. I can set my gaze toward what I think the end of those deterrents will bring or I can get back on the road that leads to real Life! I used to work in the forest clearing roads. The main road would have a destination. Once in a while I would get turned around and head down a road I expected to lead somewhere and ultimately, after several miles, it would come to a dead end. I would have to go back to the map to learn of my mistake. When it comes to faith, believing for anything God has promised or something for which we are petitioning, we have to stay with the map. There will be innumerable side roads to grab our attention but there is only one road that contains the source and the answers we need. Jesus stands at the end of that main road with his arms wide open. He has already carried every sin, sickness, sorrow, pain, shame, accusation and disease to the cross and then left it buried in the grave as he arose to be our Savior, Healer, Redeemer, King, Hero, Champion of our Faith, God Himself yet sitting at the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven with His Holy Spirit sent to dwell within those who would WALK BY FAITH in that FACT! (Now that is a mouthful of Truth!) Therefore, in this journey, I refuse to fix my eyes on anything but the ONE who is standing at the end of my PATH. Reason? He has it all under control and there is nothing I can do within my self or my own efforts to save my soul or my body but trust in the one who gave it all. I can hear some of you now who would say to eat this certain food or drink this certain drink or take this certain supplement... yes! If God directs you... go for it! Just keep in mind, ultimately He has to be the object of our Faith and Trust because we are involved in something much bigger than ourselves... an eternal plan. So, believe with all your heart what his promises are toward those who love Him and walk toward Him wholeheartedly. Focusing on anything other than our Amazing God who created SOMETHING out of NOTHING will not allow Faith to grow and Peace and Joy to prevail as we continue toward our ultimate destination, which is Heaven itself. None of us are leaving this planet alive yet we will all live forever. I choose the only road that will get me eternal intimacy with Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Heaven... the road of FAITH in the Lord Jesus and His death on the Cross. I have FAITH that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is at work in my body to bring about all that he has promised. He has made me alive in my Spirit, united my Soul with Him and will quicken (give or restore life to; spring to life, become animated) my mortal body! I am believing that through the prayers of those who love me and the power of the Holy Spirit I am free of cancer and I will live to fulfill all his purposes for me until that day I reach the end of this awesome, light-filled road to Righteousness! Job suffered much in his body but through it all, his focus was on the object of his worship and I will close with this: "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. and he said (chapter 1 verses 20-22), "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." To quote a precious Sister who has survived cancer for 10 years..."I belong to the Lord no matter what." Let JESUS be the Camera lens of your FAITH to bring real life into FOCUS." Walking the Path with you! Be encouraged today!
