Lift up your eyes
Jesus was constantly impressing upon people the importance of faith. He said, “According to your faith be it done to you.” In the home of Simon the Pharisee he said to the forgiven woman, “Your faith has saved you.” And at the foot of the mount of transfiguration he said to a father beside himself in concern for his afflicted son, “All things are possible to him who believes.”
Faith in God—this above all. The writer of Hebrews, contemplating the life of Moses, said of him who delivered the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt: “He endured as seeing him who is invisible.” And he did, going in the face of overwhelming odds.
To see an unfaltering faith in God, look at Moses standing on the banks of the Red Sea. Waves rolled high before him blocking forward progress, saying, “Halt! No farther!” Infested swamps lay to his left, burning desert sands were on his right, and the Pharaoh’s Egyptian army was closing in behind him to take them back into slavery in Egypt. Amidst it all hear him cry out to his people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.” And God acted, vindicating his faith.
During World War II a Dutch lad 22 years of age, was taken prisoner by the Germans and sentenced to death. On the night before the execution he wrote his father, “It is difficult but I must tell you what is going to happen. Read this letter alone and then break the news to mother. In a little while I am going to die. But it is only a moment and I shall be with God. Be courageous. They can take only our bodies. Our souls are in the hands of God.”
Secondly, faith in yourself. Throughout all history God has used people to accomplish his purpose, and he can use you if you have faith in who you are and what you are.
On the eve of the great invasion of Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Religion gives you courage to make the decisions you must make in a crisis, and then the confidence to leave the results to a higher power. Only by faith in oneself and faith in God can a man carrying responsibility find repose.”
Faith in yourself comes through self-discipline.
The greatest battle ever fought,
Shall I tell you where or when?
On the maps of the world you will find it not
It was fought in the souls of men.
Clyde Nichols is a retired minister, having served First Christian Church in Temple for 27 years as senior minister. He is the author of three books of devotionals and writes a religious column for several Texas newspapers, including The Reporter.
“This is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith.” (I John 5:4)
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