In Deuteronomy 31, God’s Word tells us that Moses died, and it was a time of great mourning for God’s people. They had been enslaved by the Egyptians under the brutal oppression of pharaoh for 400 years, and God delivered them through Moses. He led them out of Egypt into the wilderness, but it was never intended to be their permanent residence. Heavenly Father promised them a land so lush and bountiful that it was nicknamed the ‘land of milk and honey’, but a few glitches along the way almost prevented them from grasping God’s promise. Another extremely important thing that Moses did for the Children of Israel is encourage them to always stay close to God. They had a few problems with this as well. They ran hot one minute—wanting to love and honor God, and cold the next; being unruly and full of disobedience. His children back then were a lot like many of us today.
God could have turned His back on us thousands of years ago, but He didn’t. Even when those in the Old Testament were worshipping idol gods, and treating Heavenly Father and each other with total disrespect, He forgave them. And not only did He forgive them, but He was faithful and committed to help them. He made them a promise that He would give them a beautiful place to inhabit, and then He proceeded to help them acquire it. The land was already inhabited with people that were huge in stature and presumably very strong. Moses, their great leader had died, so you can imagine that going in and taking this land by force seemed at first glance to be an incredible challenge.
God appointed Joshua to pick up the leadership role. Moses left big shoes to fill, and Joshua quite naturally had some reservations, but God encouraged him. He said in Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT), “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” This is a very comforting Word from the Lord. It also reinforces another very important truth. God gave them the promise, but He was not going to supernaturally lift the people off the ground and teleport them to this promised land. We know that He is certainly able to do this, but He was not willing to violate the natural laws that He created to govern the universe. He’s a God of order, and He constrains Himself to operate within the laws He’s ordained. In other words, He is 150 million percent faithful to His Word. When He told them to be strong and courageous, and that He wouldn’t abandon them, they were required to get their hearts and minds on board with His plan, and trust Him. They had to take the land by faith, and step out on His promise.
Heavenly Father wants us to understand that He doesn’t withhold His blessings from us. Psalm 84:11(KJV) tells us, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” A plethora of goodies flow from His throne room every moment of every day. Everything that anyone could ever want is probably already here, available in the earth. The thing that causes us to tap into God’s overflow is faith. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) states “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is real! More real than anything our physical eyes can see. And the reason it is so important to our Christian walk is because faith helps us to accomplish the things that God has called us to do. He’s given us faith to make sure His Will is done on earth as it is in heaven. His Will is that we prosper, be in good health, and that we spread the good news of Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 11:3(NLT) says, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Our Heavenly Father used faith to create everything that we see. He used it to speak things into existence, and because of His sovereignty, truth, love, and power; faith had no other choice but to obey. Jesus Christ has given us this authority as well. Through his faith, we can call those things which are not as though they were. We can have hope for our futures. And if we remain steadfast in hope, our patient endurance will make an imprint on faith. Just like a camera bringing the lens into focus, the faith of Jesus Christ will develop the vision we’ve held tight.
So you have to ask yourself, what do YOU need to take by faith? Have you been praying for something for a long time, and it’s not yet come to pass? Are you waiting year after year for something to happen, and you appear to be no closer to it today than you were a year ago? God is waiting on you to walk out on His promises, so that He can back you the way He’s always done for His people. The Children of Israel in Old Testament times didn’t have access to the bible the way that you and I do. They didn’t have the written Word or the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct them internally. If they, having so much less, walked by faith, imagine what you and I are able to accomplish as we do the same.■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Take It by Faith”, written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2018. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.