Pastor Daniel Kolenda
‘quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.’ – Hebrews 11:34-40
God has given every man a measure of faith. Faith is not only critical to the Christian life but to human existence to the effect that we literally cannot live without it.
When you go to a restaurant, you have no idea who is making the meal, or even if they washed their hands before they prepared it, but you still eat it, trusting and believing that it’ll be well for you.
You cannot do anything in the Christian life without faith. Every part of your life is intended to be lived in and through faith. You come into the kingdom by grace through faith but you do not leave it by the door.
Your entire life is to be lived through faith. You raise your kids by faith, you go to work by faith, you invest by faith, and you take on all these things that life throws at you by and through faith.
MAKE IT THROUGH THE FIRE
When God makes you a promise, you can press into that promise. These great men and women of the past possessed the promises of God through faith. Daniel was thrown into the bay of the lion’s den when he refused to obey the order of the king. Instead, he chose to honor the Lord and the mouths of the lions were stopped. There is no beast or prey that can take you down when you are walking in faith.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to obey the king’s order. However, the men escaped unharmed and this made a great impression on King Nebuchadnezzar. They made it through the fire by faith.
David was no match for the giant, Goliath but not only did he slay that giant, but he also decapitated him. All of the great warriors sat behind trembling and in amazement at what this young shepherd boy had done. And he did it, through faith.
Elijah stretches himself out on the body of the widow’s son, whose body is lifeless. After three times, he brings down the body and hands the son to his mother.
Faith is not just about healing, miracles, and prosperity–it’s about everything. Many persons in the Bible conquered kingdoms by faith, did righteous deeds by faith, and they escaped many disasters by faith, and raised the dead by faith.
WEAKNESS TURNED TO STRENGTH
Gideon started off with an army of 32,000 men and he went up against the Midianite army with 120,000 men. God brings Gideon’s army down from 32,000 men to 300 men and still causes victory to be won. Out of weakness, they were made strong through faith.
Jonathan and his arms bearer did not sit around waiting for a plan on how to defeat the army. They left King Saul and the others and took it upon themselves to defeat some of the Philistines. Despite their army having thousands of soldiers, Johnathan and his arms bearer, are able to defeat 20 soldiers. This, in turn, causes chaos in the Philistine camp and they start running away because of these two men. And they did it through faith.
If they did all of that by faith, then you can overcome any family issues by faith, and you can overcome depression and anxiety by faith. If they could obtain promises by faith, then you too can press into those promises of God and obtain the destiny God has for your life. You can have all the things that God promises in His word by faith.
FAITH IS TRUST
There are many accounts of those whose weaknesses were turned into strengths so they could defeat their enemies. You too can find courage in your battle. In your season of weakness, you are going to become mighty in God and tap into a supernatural level of strength. In your weakness, He will be strong.
Some did have trials that ranged from imprisonment, being slain by the edge of the sword, and being deserted. But they overcame them by faith. Many times faith is seen as believing God for a good outcome and when you don’t get that outcome, it means that you didn’t have enough faith.
Faith is trust in an outcome, not a person. Even when things don’t go the way you want to, you still win because your trust is in the One who never loses. When you trust the outcome you are always being pulled by what you see in the natural but if you trust the person you can still believe no matter what you see. You can still have trust because He is trustworthy.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How can you press into the promise that God has for you? Are you trusting Him despite the outcome?
How can you get unbelief out of your life? Do you need to spend more time in His presence and in His word?
Do you have faith as a grain of mustard? Are you believing God to remove the mountain you are facing right now?
