Do you think you are not strong enough to live by faith. Do you think that living by faith is something people grow toward, until one day they wake up strong enough to obey Jesus?
This is not the way it works.
Living by faith can be one of the hardest things God asks us to do. But it is also one of the easiest. A day-old Christian can do it.
God never asks us to do anything that we cannot do. In fact, living by faith is as easy as falling off a log. That is because the hardest thing God ever asks anyone to do is to "let go". And anyone can do that.
What makes it so hard and what takes our energy is all of our hanging on... to reputations, jobs, possessions, friends and relatives, and our very lives. It's only when we let go that we find real freedom... real rest.
Consider parachute jumping. It doesn't take much strength to step out of a plane. (Easy as falling off a log, remember!) But most people won't do it, because they're scared. So they miss out on the exhilaration of 'flying' without any visible means of support.
Fear that God won't provide us with the necessary material support is what stops most of us from ever stepping out by faith. Faith in a theological God isn't real faith. But it's relatively easy, with no personal risk.
Living by faith, on the other hand, is real faith, because it is demonstrated by real action. This is the only kind of faith that will ever bring salvation. If you can't trust God for food and clothing right now, how can you seriously claim to trust him to return life to your dead body at some time in the future?
Theological faith puts off any serious encounter with God until after it's too late (i.e. until after you are dead).
If you have ever encountered the living God, you'll know that it's sheer foolishness to spend your life working for money when he owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and the wealth in every mine. Living by faith in such a God is as natural as breathing.
Who ever heard of delivering babies and then stopping them from breathing "until they are strong enough"? Such is the criminal reasoning of those who put off living by faith themselves and argue against teaching others to live by faith as well.
Let go, and let God... do it.
(See also Just Do It!)
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