“What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ ”
– Romans 4:3
Today I will share with you some Biblical examples of things going from belief to reality! Let’s start with Abraham, who was told by God, “You will be the father of many nations,” and your nation will be a blessing to the whole world, and they will outnumber the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore. Those are the words God told a 75-year-old man. What does Abraham do? He believed for 25 years, and righteousness is credited to him. That’s a long time to tell your friends that your wife is going to get pregnant. By the time you’re 100 and Sarah’s 90, people think you’re crazy. Still, he believed. First, he believed, then he saw.
Here are some other examples of faith: The prophet Jonah came to Nineveh and said, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” It would have seemed so natural for those people of the world’s most powerful empire at that time to believe that Jonah’s random God would destroy their city. However, Nineveh was saved because they repented and said who knows, maybe He will relent if we repent; The Centurion believed and saw his sick servant healed by Jesus; Hannah was told by the prophet that God would give her a child. She believed, and Samuel was born; and the bleeding woman knew in her heart if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ garment that she would be healed. She believed, and she was healed.
Friend, throughout all of these illustrations and many others, they first believed and then saw. People paired their beliefs with some kind of action, and their faith emerged. That’s why faith is so important. As you imagine, you believe, and then you see. Being able to believe and then see is so much better than seeing before believing.
Prayer
Father, help me to believe and then see.
Reflection
Is there an example of faith that encourages you?
If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power every Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. PT on TBN or watch online at hourofpower.org/episode.
