Freedom in Christ Course
Devotion
The ultimate faith-object 12 February 2021
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever (Hebrews 13:8)
The fact that you claim to believe is not the issue of faith. It's what you believe or in whom you believe that will determine whether or not your faith will be rewarded. Everybody walks by faith every day. Every time you drive on the highway, you do so by faith. Are the objects of your faith on the highway reliable? Most of the time they are because most drivers drive safely. But you may have been involved in an accident because you placed your faith in another driver who proved to be untrustworthy.
What happens when the object of your faith fails you? You give up on it - maybe not immediately, but how many failures would you tolerate before saying never again? Once faith is damaged or lost, it is very difficult to regain. Your belief isn't the problem; it's the object of your belief that either rewards or destroys your faith. If your marriage partner has been unfaithful to you, or a friend or relative has hurt you badly, your faith in that person is weak because he or she did not live up to your trust. When faith in a person is shattered, it may take months to rebuild it.
Some faith-objects, however, are solid. You set your watch, plan your calendar, and schedule your day believing that the earth will continue to revolve on its axis and rotate around the sun at its current speed. If the earth's orbit shifted just a few degrees, our lives would be turned to chaos. But so far the laws governing the physical universe have been among the most trustworthy faith-objects we have.
The ultimate faith-object, of course, is not the sun, but the Son. It is His immutability - the fact that He never changes - that makes Him eminently trustworthy (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6). He has never failed to be and do all that He said He would be and do. He is eternally faithful.
All I have needed Your hand has provided. Great is Your faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Neil Anderson
Devotion
The ultimate faith-object 12 February 2021
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever (Hebrews 13:8)
The fact that you claim to believe is not the issue of faith. It's what you believe or in whom you believe that will determine whether or not your faith will be rewarded. Everybody walks by faith every day. Every time you drive on the highway, you do so by faith. Are the objects of your faith on the highway reliable? Most of the time they are because most drivers drive safely. But you may have been involved in an accident because you placed your faith in another driver who proved to be untrustworthy.
What happens when the object of your faith fails you? You give up on it - maybe not immediately, but how many failures would you tolerate before saying never again? Once faith is damaged or lost, it is very difficult to regain. Your belief isn't the problem; it's the object of your belief that either rewards or destroys your faith. If your marriage partner has been unfaithful to you, or a friend or relative has hurt you badly, your faith in that person is weak because he or she did not live up to your trust. When faith in a person is shattered, it may take months to rebuild it.
Some faith-objects, however, are solid. You set your watch, plan your calendar, and schedule your day believing that the earth will continue to revolve on its axis and rotate around the sun at its current speed. If the earth's orbit shifted just a few degrees, our lives would be turned to chaos. But so far the laws governing the physical universe have been among the most trustworthy faith-objects we have.
The ultimate faith-object, of course, is not the sun, but the Son. It is His immutability - the fact that He never changes - that makes Him eminently trustworthy (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6). He has never failed to be and do all that He said He would be and do. He is eternally faithful.
All I have needed Your hand has provided. Great is Your faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Neil Anderson