"The righteous will live by his faith. "
Habakkuk 2:4
APPROVED BY FAITH
Read It: Hebrews 11:2-3 How many times have you been showing your child how to do some task the right way when he stops you in the middle and says, "Dad, do we really have to do it this way?" What he's asking is, "Isn't there some quick lazy-man's way to get the same result?" That's when you say the same thing your parents said to you: "You have to do it this way if you want to get the job done right." What you're saying is, "If you want my approval, and my approval is what counts, you've got to do it this way." That's what verse 2 of today's text is saying. If you want God's approval, you live by faith. This is how "the men of old" were approved. The people who were recognized by God were people who understood the necessity of faith. Well, what did these people know and believe? One answer is in verse 3. They knew where they came from and where the world around them came from. God spoke, and the visible was created out of the invisible. As poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: Earth is crammed with heaven And every common bush aflame with God. But only those who see will take off their shoes.
The rest sit around and pluck blackberries. A person has to be a fool to be an atheist when he sees the creative genius of God. But a Christian has to be a fool to be a practical atheist, to live as though God is not there. Because the believers of old, the men and women of Hebrews 11, were people of faith who knew who made them and whom they belonged to, they had a tremendous sense of God's presence even in tough times. They couldn't always see the answer, but they believed God. So if you cannot see the solution to your problem or need or burden, but still you keep on believing God-if you live by faith-you are a great candidate for God's presence. Faith is confidence in the trustworthiness of God-the foundation of the house. Everything else stands on it. Stand on God's trustworthy Word. Build your hope on things eternal. Think About It Only Christians who live by faith enjoy the benefits of God's approval.
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