Walking by Faith
Since I became a Christian, God has made a strong personal emphasis on me living by faith.
Over time, I have come to see that I can’t truly perceive truth with my physical senses because all that is naturally observable is not all that there is.The essence of this article is to make you understand that the Christian walk is a walk of faith – from start to finish. And it's this way we get to enjoy rich fellowship with God.
I use the story of my struggle after becoming born again to show that faith is the foundation of the Christian life, and it is the agency by which that life is lived.
We have to come to the point where we know the Word of God, and trust it so much that we take it as the final authority, even in the face glaring natural contradiction.
Indeed, “let God be true, but every man a liar…” (Romans 3:4)
Let’s Talk About My Salvation Experience.
For quite a while, I struggled in believing that I was truly saved. This was because it was such an ordinary experience for me.
‘Ordinary in what sense?’ you might ask.
Well, come to think of it: We are told that getting saved is the greatest thing that can happen to a person. And, truly, I believe that.
But in my case, there was no spectacular experience to mark this life-transforming event.
This bothered me because I had heard lots of salvation stories and testimonies, and in most of them, something spectacular happened.
For some, it was a strange shiver running down their spine; others just burst into an uncontrollable and profuse crying. Some tell you that a radiant light filled the room they were, and others say they just felt overwhelmed by this palpable presence of God’s glory.
But in my case, there was nothing truly special.
So did I truly get saved?
Maybe I didn’t say the words correctly.
Or maybe I didn’t believe adequately enough.
In the process of time, I got hold of Romans 10:9-10
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (NIV)
I saw from Scripture that the requirement for salvation is believing the resurrection of Jesus in your heart, and confessing Him as Lord.
Quite simple, isn’t it?
Well, I had satisfied those two conditions, so what was the problem?
Ephesians 2:8 answers that:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith…”
That was it. My salvation was through faith.
It’s not something I could latch on to with my physical senses. I couldn’t possibly feel saved. No! I am to believe I am saved because God’s word says so—whether I feel like it or not.
This was a liberating revelation. Truth, indeed, sets you free!
Faith is the Foundation of the Supernatural Life.
Everything about the Christian life is supernatural.
The New Birth is supernatural (1st Peter 1:23). We were born again by the incorruptible, ever-living, ever-abiding Word of God. At that point, our spirit was recreated by God (Ephesians 2:10), and we became completely new creatures (2nd Corinthians 5:17).
What I did in my experience (shared above) was to put a question mark on the supernatural change that had happened to me because it was not spectacular.
Notice these two words:
Supernatural (this pertains to all that God does, which may, or may not, be perceivable by human observation)
Spectacular (this can refer to a sensational external/physical manifestation)
Everything God does is supernatural, but it is not always spectacular.cular can only be perceived with our physical senses. Not so with the supernatural; you may not be able to see it or feel it by physical observation.
God can only be perceived by faith. No way else!
Now you see why I was wrong to have questioned the reality of my salvation because there was not the slightest dramatic manifestation. This is the stumbling block for most people!
I was walking by sight! The wrong way to walk (2nd Corinthians 5:7)
Living by Faith!
Now, faith doesn’t stop at the point of salvation. It is a vital and active element that we will have to put to work all through our Christian journey
God is displeased by unbelief—which is the opposite of faith (Hebrews 11:6). He expects us to live by faith.
Just the way it is with salvation, faith has to come to play in everything else: receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing, prayer (as an act), receiving the promises of God to you, exercising your authority in Christ, being led by the Holy Spirit, and so on…
Believers largely miss out on the move of God in their lives because they are so natural-minded; forgetting that all that is seen is not all that there is. In fact, we understand through faith that “the things which are seen were not made from things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)
Dear friend, this is how we live—no other way.
Find out what the Word of God says about issues you struggle with and ask Him to help you live by faith. The Word is very important in this case because faith comes by hearing [reading, studying, meditating on] the Word of God.
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