I find it “coincidental” that my last two posts have unknowingly followed a progression that will be completed with this post.
If you’ve been following along, you know that recently God has given me a greater level of faith and the right “heart” desire to walk out that faith.
Since I’m in a season of life that is requiring faith and I find myself struggling to walk out that faith, I decided to read up on it today. I needed some encouragement, so I went to the Word. Pretty cool idea, huh? ;)
Here’s an excerpt from The Bible Exposition Commentary.
… faith is based on God’s Word, and it involves the whole man. […] The whole person plays a part in true … faith. The mind understands the truth; the heart desires the truth; and the will acts upon the truth.
I’m going to go through those three things, but the focus of this post is really on the third one (the will).
The Mind Understands the Truth
The truth that I’m understanding nowadays is the object of my faith. It is definitely and utterly no longer myself that I have faith in.
“Faith is only as good as its object.” The new object of my faith is in God and Jesus Christ.
The Heart Desires the Truth
Really, I think this boils down to an internal surrender. A willingness to let go of your life and allow God to freely direct it as He sees fit. This is the kind of heart attitude and faith that says . . .
“Bring me anything that brings You glory.” Bring it. I’m game.
The Will Acts Upon the Truth
This final stage is where I find the current battle taking place. I have the mental understanding. I have the heart attitude.
But now, I need to walk it out. This is where it sucks to be me. And probably you if you’re in a similar situation. ;)
James 2:21-22 (NIV)
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
Only when the three things above (the mind, the heart and the will) operate does faith become complete.
If we want to see completion happen in our current situation, not only do we need to understand who our faith is in, surrender the situation completely to God, but we also have to execute and walk out surrender in our daily lives.
Had Abraham not continued to walk up the mountain to the place where God wanted Isaac sacrificed, Abraham’s faith would not have been completed. God’s plan would not have been completed. Abraham’s promise would not have been completed.
Faith and action work together in order to complete God’s work in us and in order for God’s work to be complete through us.
Imagine walking up the mountain as Abraham. With every step, you look over at Isaac. You know full well what you’re about to do, but you continue walking.
With every step and every look at your “Isaac,” you are one step closer to completion.
Continue walking to the place of completion.
There you will find God returning what you have given Him (Genesis 22:12; Luke 6:38).