"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 10:17
This morning while in prayer over a matter, I told God I would have absolute faith in an outcome, if only He were to promise me what the outcome would be. His response came as a challenge: Would you have faith even if I didn't tell you?
As I pondered this in my heart, I quickly realized that, no, I would not. I reasoned that I would not want to put my faith in an absolute unless I had the word of God on the matter. Because God's will, unless revealed to us, is indiscernible and putting my faith in an unknown outcome is folly. I heard in my Spirit a small, still voice say, 'Ah' and then this scripture came to mind. Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."
I began thinking more about the ability to know God's will apart from what has been revealed already. It didn't take me long to conclude: Impossible.
Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
Proverbs 25:2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
We know from reading His revealed word in the Bible, that Christ was the only one who could actually do all the 'words of this law' perfectly and it is only by putting our faith in Him that, we too, fulfill God's law. Faith, then, has become our purpose, for without it, it is 'impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him'. He rewards us when we seek Him and desire to walk in His ways. He rewards us by revealing more of Himself and sharing His secrets with us.
Faith is not the same thing as hope. I can hope that what I am praying for will come to pass the way I desire, but unless God reveals to me what His specific will is regarding a matter, I cannot put my faith in Him to perform it the way I hope He will. Faith, as the author of Hebrews points out, is the 'substance of things hoped for'. When God has revealed a part of Himself or an aspect of His plan, we can put our full faith into it, for He does not lie. At this point our hope becomes a substance-- it goes from abstract to concrete.
It is very important, then, for us to listen. We must listen to His word as we read the Bible. We must listen to the still, small voice that comes to our spirits. If we want to know God's will, to know what He is thinking and feeling and planning, we must search Him out, as Solomon wisely advised us. We must hear from Him in order to have true, substantial faith, as Paul pointed out to the Romans. God is pleased by our faith in Him and in His revealed will through His Word. He is not pleased when we guess, assume or hope real hard. This is what people without a relationship with Christ call faith. This is what many of us in the church have told ourselves is enough. But it isn't.
God is generous with us, speaking all the time; through nature, through people, through prophets, through the law, through Christ, through the apostles, through the Bible, through His Holy Spirit. Romans tells us that we are without excuse-- God has always been speaking and revealing Himself. He has made it so easy for us to find Him, yet we continue to be eluded, continue to feel we are lost in mystery because we lack the discipline to seek Him. Many of us still want to avoid the maturity, responsibility and accountability that comes from knowing His revealed will. We like being victims of circumstance. We like complaining. We somehow find comfort in spiritual ambiguity. But our lives lack power. We lack the power to pray effective prayers because we refuse to know Him. We lack the power to lead people to Christ because we don't know how. We lack the power to be transformed because our minds are not being renewed by searching out who He is in what He has already revealed. We want a quick fix to our problems and we want to feel okay, but we don't want to exert much more effort than whining and begging. We want God to do our laundry, cook our meals, clean our rooms, take us to the park, tuck us in at night with a hug and a kiss as we fall into blissful sleep. And, He has done all this in Christ. He continues to minister to us in this way through the Holy Spirit. But, just like an earthly parent, He wants us to grow up and start doing our own chores. He has shown us how to take care of ourselves and others and disciplines us when we don't. Yet, instead of receiving His discipline and growing from it, we collapse into tantrums hoping our pitifulness will move his heart and cause Him to relent. This is not the fervent prayer of a righteous person. These are the actions of a petulant, lazy child. I do this. I confess.
I want my faith to work miracles. I want my faith to please God. I want my faith to be substantial, but I have to *gasp* work for it. I must draw near to God so that He'll draw near to me. I must diligently seek Him before He rewards me with His presence, before He can trust me with His secrets. I must put aside childish, manipulative whining, quiet down and listen to His words. And then I must obey what He has revealed, putting action to my faith. I want my life to have power. Don't you? Join me, then, in seeking Him and listening for His voice. If we want faith, we must hear Him.
