“And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)
Faith is a choice – one so simple it could be
relegated as foolish. Faith speaks of conviction; holding so strongly to the
truth that you have been persuaded about. Many years ago, I would tell myself
that even if all of the world around me physically fell, and I stood on a piece
of earth only big enough for the size of my two petite feet, completely exposed
to space with one breath as my only possession, I would spend that one breath
prophesying ”it is not yet over.” I thought that way, and I still do, because I
am convinced that God’s Word works – no matter how long it takes.
In these days, more than ever before, we must
believe that God’s Word is absolute in its strength and judgments. Today, we
have Christians who have convinced themselves that the Bible is not reliable,
claiming contradictions that would not have been contradictory if they had
studied with the Spirit of God. Many have judged the Word by their feelings and
made accommodations based on so-proclaimed science. Others have made all effort
to believe, and because it did not seem to work, they got tired of believing it
was something they were not doing, so the blame was shifted to God’s Word to
bear.
In the scripture with which I opened this post,
we see Peter with all his understanding of “reality and sensibility” challenged
by the Master’s instruction to try one more time. The Bible records that he had
troubled the waters all through the night prior to that. He was a professional,
one that knew his job well; Jesus’ instructions challenged his “scientific”
knowledge. Yet, when he held the Word as final authority, he saw something that
science and all the veterans of fishery could not explain.
If you take time to dissect that scripture, you’d
notice Peter said, “At thy word, I will.” Whatever you will because of God’s Word is your
act of faith, and it is sure to produce results. I’ve heard faith described as
an “unqualified committal to God’s Word.” You may not know why you should
believe, but you believe anyway. It’s from your spirit, something God made
possible for every human person to do. That which you will because of God’s Word is what pleases the Father’s heart.
You may have made the same mistake a thousand
times and still find yourself back in it each time you repent. Practice talking
to yourself each time the error is accomplished; say “against hope, I believe
in hope. I am more than this. God made me more than this.” When there’s no
reason for you or anyone else to believe in you, that’s the time to insist on
an unqualified committal of yourself to God’s Word. Just believe because God’s
Word says you are “the righteousness of
God in Christ Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Whether you feel it or not,
because you are born again and filled with the HolyGhost, the righteousness of
God is working in you.
In the same vein, do not accept anything as truth
if the Word does not have room for it. I’ve heard people say “I’m hot-tempered;
it’s the way I am.” It’s so sad, because that person’s future has been
restricted, contained in boundaries of uncontrolled anger. He or she has
accepted the cards they were dealt. If
there is anything about you that God’s Word does not support, that thing is not
your uniqueness. A disease, bad attitude, inappropriate affections and
other such things cannot possibly be your uniqueness; God doesn’t deal that
way. Those things are what this world (a result of the Adamic fall) gave to
you; you had no choice in that matter. But, seeing as Christ has died and was
raised for you, you now have a choice. Refuse to be reined in by circumstances
that can be changed. Against your feelings and condition, be determined to take
God’s Word as final. Confess the truth of God’s Word over yourself in that
matter, and refuse to give in. Take sides with the Word, even when there is no “good
reasoning” to do so!
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