As I wake up this morning in New York City visiting my son and his wife, I find my dreams have raised up a question in my soul.
What hinders faith?
or
What motivates faith?
I was reading in Exodus 6:1-9 about the testing of faith that came when Moses began his ministry. All that the Word of God created was persecution and oppression. There was no deliverance or salvation. Life only became harder instead of better because of God's prophet and presence. In response God speaks to Moses and by means of Moses the promises of His love and purpose. He assures them that they will be saved and delivered from their slavery in Egypt.
They did not listen to the good news that day. Why? I was struck by the text. They did not listen because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. They were absorbed by their misery and the were literally "out of breath" or "out of spirit". We all know what it is like to run until we are "out of breath" and then we stop. We simply cannot take another step in that condition. We cannot be motivated to run when we are "out of breath."
What had caused this "shortness of spirit"? They had just had their hopes of being delivered by Moses crushed and this feeling of disappointment was not moved by the Word of God. They also lived day in and day out in a very hard circumstances. They were slaves. That reality made it hard for them to be motivated to believe in the Word of God that spoke of freedom. They also feared the king. To believe in what God was saying would anger the king of Egypt and bring on them more woe. To believe put them at practical risk. I think we can all understand why it was hard for them to listen that day.
How about today for you and me? When the Holy Spirit comes to us and sings to us about the love of God in Christ Jesus today what causes us to not respond in faith. Are we suffering from "shortness of spirit" ? Do our circumstances enslave us? Are we afraid of what faith might cost us?
What hinders our faith?
and
What motivates us to believe?
I think it is important we ask these questions. I think it is important we start finding answers to these questions. What do you think? What are your answers to these questions?
Please leave a comment, I would love to know your ideas and feelings on these questions.
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2 comments:
We all want heaven on earth. Just as freedom does not come free, neither is peace attained without a good fight. How many of us so called Christians are willing to pay the price for our faith and beliefs. Those of us that strive to attain total obedience and confidence in the word of God would hope his good will is being done in our lives. But does His will for us sometime include hardship in order to refine the soul through its pilgrimage in the matter. May this be what hinders our faith? God’s enterprise is not a turnkey operation. His promises and covenant made to the people of Israel in Exodus (just as in our own lives) includes a pilgrimage that we must sojourn through in order to get were we need to be – the Promised Land. There is a divine plan and purpose to be worked out here and we His people need to travail through it all. So lets pick up our shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of unbelief, lack of motivation and circumstances in life and continue moving forward with strength and valor until God’s promises and covenants are complete in there divine- entirety. As for Moses, he may have realized the price of leadership was not easy. He may have tried to impart to the people that suffering and success go together. Did the people listen to him; did they understand what he was trying to explain to them? Probably not! Regardless of their plight, if unable to see the divine plan and God’s intended purpose for them, they may have well missed the whole point of it all. But God did not give up. So why should we give up now, we are so close and the coming of the King and His Kingdom is at hand, despite anything and everything we are allowed to endure for it. If we liken faith to a physical muscle of the body, we can only make it stronger by exercising it. If by keeping faith spiritually strong, we may be able to avoid suffering from “shortness of spirit.” We may find our divine spiritual initiative to stand firm in life’s circumstances that appear to enslave us. The thing about spiritual initiative through faith is that Gods promises in our lives are fulfilled after we overcome our doubts and discouragements. “The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life comes after we do the “bucking up.” “God does not give us overcoming life; he gives us life as we overcome.” (Oswald Chambers-My Utmost for His Highest).
I believe that God must have be the source of all life. That includes the faith by which we overcome the world (1 John 5:5). It is always God who acts first. We respond to His grace by His grace.
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