Blessed is one who Believes

2 Pet. 1:3-4, “……..as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the ^[c]corruption that is in the world through lust.

 The Word of God is full of promises from the book of Genesis till the book of Revelation. God has blessed His children with all things pertaining to life and Godliness. He is not a God who ignores our needs. He asks us to focus  on spiritual blessings . As we continue to seek Him and His kingdom, all the rest shall be given unto us. When the multitude followed Jesus and spent almost three days without having food to hear His preaching, The Lord did not send them away hungry asking them to seek their own food. Instead, He made them sit on the ground in lines, and fed them with bread and fish till they were satisfied (Mark 6: 34-42). And in this process, He manifested His glory and power. But often we miss our blessings only because we are unable to believe in His promises.

Challenges against faith in promises :

Focus on challenges : Numbers 13: 27-28, “Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly ^[g]flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.” All promises of God are bundled up with challenges. None are seen easily fulfilled. It’s because God always intends to mold lives through the process of fulfilment of promises. Here, the Israelites spied the promised land. They saw it as land which flows with milk and honey. But the people living there were strong with fortified cities. Hence, the Israelites focused more on the seemingly strong people which weakened their hearts and minds from going ahead with faith to possess the land. They almost desired to go back to Egypt. But Caleb and Joshua, who had different mindset, quietened them and encouraged them.  Numb.13:30, ‘Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Numb.14:8, ‘ If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’  As we move ahead to believe in His promises, the seemingly strong challenges appears as giants, discouraging us. But as Caleb said, let us delight in God’s presence. Its He who gives us the promised blessings. It’s He who enables us to overcome every feeling of weakness.

 Focus on human wisdom : Gen.17:17-18,”Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Abraham and Sarah was promised a child when he was 75 years old. And now he was almost 100 years old. The long wait had caused weariness in Abraham’s heart. So when the Lord again spoke about the promised child, Abraham seemed to tell God that ….”its Ok Lord….Ishamel is enough……because promised child at age of 100 and 90 is out of our imaginations….and may be beyond your power.” Abraham sounds wise here….in terms of human wisdom. But often human wisdom is great obstacle to faith life. 1 Cor.1:27-29, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the ^[m]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence.” Human wisdom is a gift of God and needed much by mankind. But we, as God’s children need to focus more on His counsel and guidance in order to recieve His promises.  Gen.17:19, “Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” God again spoke to Abraham about the promised child from Sarah. He broke all the walls of unbelief built up by Abraham on the basis of age, impossibility etc. At times, God waits to test the faith beyond all our self made boundaries. And then He breaks them all, establishing His unchanging Word.

 Focus on our needs more than His Word : Gen.28:15^{, “} Behold, I am with you and will keep^[c] you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” When Jacob was forced to leave his father’s house, fearing Esau, he was all alone. He had to spend the night in the open desert, where he used a stone as a pillow. But the Lord was with him and assured him of His presence all throughout his life. The Lord promised him great things. But Jacob was full of concerns for his ‘tomorrow’, for his food, clothing etc. Hence he was unable to comprehend the great things the Lord spoke to him. Gen.28:20-21, ‘ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.’ When we focus on His promises or Word more than our needs, the latter is met by our Lord in amazing ways.

 Lk.1:45, ‘ Blessed is she who ^[h]believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Being able to believe in His Word or promises, without questioning or doubting is a great gift of faith from the Lord. Today we see innumerable lives attending churches and being very active in various church programs. We hear a lot of words being preached from the pulpit about faith. But we hardly see true and genuine faith in hearts when we interact with them on one to one basis. We see seeds of faith struggling to sprout and take deep roots in one’s lives. It’s being suffocated with human wisdom, the challenges and the anxious thoughts about one’s basic needs. Lk.18:8,” I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Here, Jesus was speaking about the parables regarding how not to get weary with prayers till we get the answer. The long wait often brings in weariness in the soul, making one almost give up praying. But the Lord commands His children never to give up on praying.

 Is.40:31, ‘But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.’ A person waiting on the Lord focuses on the Lord Himself, more than the issues one prays for. This helps one to grow in faith, irrespective of all circumstances. When one focuses on His Word, one’s mind is renewed, thereby renewing one’s strength. This is essential to wait with abounding faith till our Lord returns in glory. As this world is becoming more and more challenging, especially for God’s children, its essential to be renewed in spiritual strength and to grow in faith.

 God bless us all.