Bible Reading: Judges 19, 20 & 21. Luke 7:26-50
“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” -Luke 7:50 (KJV).
We all have general faith which we exercise everyday. For example, you have faith that when you enter your vehicle, it will take you to where you drive it to. You also have faith that when you sit on a seat, you will not fall; hence you sit on it. In the general faith, you see people who have done similar things or are doing it and are not injured, this energizes your faith and make you to do same. What of where you have no experience and have not seen anyone who has done such a thing but you believe His word in Luke 1:37 (KJV), “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” How often do you exercise your faith in such circumstance?
This was the situation in the life of a king in the south west Nigeria who gave his life to Christ. Then it was difficult for any man to confront the traditional institutions with the attendant satanic practices. But this king ordered the abolition of many of the occult practices and so set the stage for a battle with the traditionalists. But he stood his ground for Jesus without his faith shaking. One day, some people brought disputes to the palace and before the king came out some of his Chiefs sprinkled charms on his seat so that he would remain glued to the seat once he sat on it. The king came and sat down. After settling the dispute, he tried to stand up and he couldn’t. Then the king knew something was wrong and he looked at his Chiefs and was probably able to read the message and rather than fret he began to recite Psalm 24 . After that he said, I rise up in the name of Jesus and immediately, the charm was nullified! The Chiefs were said to have gone home ashamed and some of them gave their lives to Christ. Every of such situation is a set up to take you to the next level in relationship with your creator and an opportunity to win more souls for Christ! What do you do in such circumstances? Do you truly exercise your faith or you become afraid. But note that 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Exercise your faith and move to the next level. Besides, Proverbs 21:31 (KJV) says “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.” And whenever you exercise your faith, the name of God is glorified and you have peace! Luke 7:50 (KJV), “And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
However, for such faith to work, you must note what Psalm 24:3-4(KJV) say. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who shall stand in his holy place? [4] He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” You need clean hands and a pure heart to move the Lord to work with you in faith!
Action point: Examine yourself this moment and repent of any sin that may be dirtying your hands or your heart and thereafter exercise your faith in any challenging situation you may be in.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero