Faith is the Victory

Isaiah 57:14-15

How is life?  All around us we see challenges, and some seem like mountains too high to climb, and yet God is still speaking if only we have ears to hear and eyes to see.  In our adult Bible study, the prayer requests were as mountains in the lives of many and the needs seemed beyond anyone’s ability to scale those mountains.  Our teaching was in Mark 11:12-26, and our teacher asked for thoughts from the class.  The Scripture addressed Jesus cursing a fig tree, the cleansing of the Temple, and the withering of the fig tree.  It was Peter that made the observation of the withered fig tree in verse 21 and Jesus answered in verses 22-23, “And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”

This Scripture is about faith, and Jesus uses the impossible for a human, telling a mountain to be moved, but we all have mountains in our lives, and only faith in God will move them.  The apostle John tells us we have in Christ a victory that is world changing, now that far exceeds just moving a mountain.  Look in 1 John 5:4, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”  Faith, the Christians secret weapon when engaged without disbelief.

It is faith that gives us the ability to do Isaiah 57:14-15, “And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.” For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  As a follower of Christ what obstacles are keeping you from living the victorious life?  Isaiah is telling the people to remove obstacles that stand between them and God.  For us to have faith that overcomes the world, it will require an intimate relationship with God.  It will also require each of us to come to brokenness, no longer relying on our talents, our wealth, our skill set, but on God.  For we are told in the Psalms 57:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  

 How are you doing in removing the obstacles that stand between you and God, a personal testimony; the closer I get to the prize the more obstacles become visible, they seem like that mountain Jesus talked about, many have deep roots in my life, and they need to wither like that fig tree, all the way to the roots.

It is very hard for a blind man to help a blind man across a busy street, but we who have sight must allow Jesus to use us in this world of blind people.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice