By Faith

December 30

By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. — Ephesians 2:8

Scripture reading: Hebrews 11

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Hebrews 11:4); “by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death” (v. 5); “by faith Noah…prepared an ark for the saving of his household” (v. 7); “by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance” (v. 8).

There is only one way to all the treasures of God, and that is the way of faith. All things are possible, even the fulfilling of all promises is possible, to him who believes (Mark 9:23).

There will be failure in our lives if we do not build on the base, the Rock Christ Jesus. He is the only way; He is the truth; He is the life (John 14:6). And the Word He gives us is life-giving. As we receive the Word of Life, it quickens, it opens, it fills us, it moves us, it changes us, and it brings us into a place where we dare to say amen to all that God has said. Beloved, there is a lot in an amen. You never get any place until you have the amen inside of you. That was the difference between Zacharias and Mary. When the Word came to Zacharias, he was filled with unbelief until the angel said, “You will be mute…because you did not believe my words” (Luke 1:20). Mary said, “Let it be to me according to your word” (v. 38). The Lord was pleased that she believed what He had spoken. When we believe what God has said, there will be results.

We may do much praying and groaning, but we do not receive from God because of that; we receive because we believe. Yet sometimes it takes God a long time to bring us through the groaning and the crying before we can believe.

I know that no man by his praying can change God, for you cannot change Him. Charles Finney said, “Can a man who is full of sin and all kinds of ruin in his life change God when he starts to pray?” No, it is impossible. But when a man labors in prayer, he groans and travails because his tremendous sin is weighing him down, and he becomes broken in the presence of God. When properly melted, he comes into perfect harmony with the divine plan of God, and then God can work in that clay. He could not before. Prayer changes hearts, but it never changes God. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever: full of love, full of compassion, full of mercy, full of grace, and ready to bestow this and communicate that to us as we come to Him in faith.

Believe that when you come into the presence of God you can have all you came for. You can take it away, and you can use it, for all the power of God is at your disposal in response to your faith. The price for all was paid by the blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Oh, He is the living God, the One who has power to change us! “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). And it is He who purposes to transform us so that the greatness of His power may work through us. Oh, beloved, God delights in us, and when a man‘s ways please the Lord, then He makes all things move according to His own blessed purpose.

Thought for today: All people are born with a natural faith, but God calls us to a supernatural faith that is a gift from Himself.