Walk By Faith

At the end of this journey, we call life, only those who walk by faith, trusting in Jesus Christ throughout, and endure by faith in Him to the end will be honored by God. For He has declared in Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous shall live by his faith.” In Hebrews 10:38, He said, “But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 

Hebrews 11:6, God says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

You can do a hundred religious things related to following old church traditions, obeying God’s established rules, and doing good instead of evil. You can attend church every Sunday and Wednesday and participate in good extracurricular activities and ministries related to church, outreach, and the homeless and abandoned in society, or you can be a part of many religious organizations. You can be kind to your neighbor and follow the rule of law to be a good citizen or perform a long list of other good deeds toward your fellow man. But if you do not walk with God daily and endure whatever He allows to come your way, good and bad, by faith, trusting that He is in control, what good is all the good you have done?

Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”

To walk with God and trust Him and His will for your life by faith is not easy but completely necessary. Following where Jesus leads you is a tough choice, especially when His path is often times the roughest road imaginable. It is easier to follow the ways of the world. As they say, “Go along, to get along.” But the truth is that the easy road of doing what the majority likes to do is wrong. For example, lying, theft, lust, coveting, manipulation, cursing, mockery, deceiving, and committing all kinds of crimes and evil acts both in public and in secret are the exact opposite of what the Lord accepts. God hates sin and the abominations that come from the love of doing what is wrong.

Psalm 11:5 The LORD tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

God desires to have faithful, good, and honest servants following Him. He wants them to trust that He has their good and well-being in mind, no matter how difficult it may be. He has a goal set at the end of your journey, though it will take many sacrifices and may result in many falls because of how complex and uneven the ground may be. But throughout all the hardships, pain, struggle, abuse, and mocking of others, the destination will be worth every tear and injury you must endure. That place is called Heaven, and He has prepared it for you, which will be amazing!

Jesus said in John 14:1-3 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” 

When you have struggled against the temptation to turn aside from His path or turn around altogether, He will be overjoyed and reward you for your tenacity to keep going, even at times when all you could do was inch your way forward in the middle of the darkness. When you cross that finish line of life, the King of kings and Lord of lords will be busting with pride and joy that you have followed His guidance by faith, knowing He would never let you down or leave you behind. Even when the storms of life and the direct assaults of the Devil and his demons were attacking you relentlessly, you kept your eyes on Jesus and held onto your faith, even if it was only the size of a mustard seed.

Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” and in Mark 11:22-23 “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.”

You see, it only takes faith in Jesus the size of a mustard seed to move the mountains of doubt, fear, anxiety, and temptation out of the way to see clearly that Jesus is always right there with you. Because of your faith, He always holds you up, prevents your foot from slipping, and guides you in the right direction. He does this even when the Devil has laid traps for you to fall in or has blinded your sight. Jesus provides everything you need to fight through everything that may block your path or attempt to stop or pull you off God’s destined path.

Realistically, we often think that losing a job, becoming sick, not having enough money, being betrayed by a friend or coworker, losing a loved one, or an endless list of troubles that could happen to a person make following God difficult. However, the spiritual attacks in the unseen world are the real problem and make it difficult to follow the Lord. The Devil sends his evil spirits of doubt, fear, anxiety, impatience, anger, unbelief, selfishness, arrogance, pride, witchcraft, and many more to distress your spirit in believing what is false.

The Devil attempts to fool you into believing these wicked things are good and right, but the Devil is a liar and will never lead you in the right direction. Since God has given you a conscience to know the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, you know for a fact that anytime you experience feeling like those listed above, it is from the evil one, and you should rebuke him; those feelings, and the evil spirits in Jesus name. Do not listen to them, and trust that Jesus is the way. He will help you in your time of need whenever you call on Jesus’ name for help.

Always remember, Jesus is the Good Physician, the God of Creation, the Bread of Life, the Healer, the Comforter, the lover of your soul, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the beginning and the end. He is the one who you can put your faith and trust in, never to let you down. So firmly fix your eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior and King, and continue no matter how difficult or painful the journey is or may become. He believes in you, too, and is proud of your walk by faith.

Jesus said in John 10:27-30, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”