Walking by Faith
Greetings Church!
Since the beginning of 2025, I have decided to study the topic of faith in the Bible. I am now 20 days into this study and have hours of research in the word of God, with two sermons and three missionary biographies under my belt. I have been searching the scriptures looking at texts on faith and people who supposedly ‘walked by faith’. My conclusion is this: I don’t have a whole lot of faith! Or at least I don’t seem to have as much as I used to. I’m not talking about faith in Jesus, or heaven or the return of Christ and the rapture of the church. I’m talking about everyday faith, the kind the Bible defines as: “It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). What I am believing for, I don’t see yet! And it’s been a long time coming! The salvation of certain people for whom I’ve been praying for years; the fulfillment of a vision God has given me for ministry; the healing of certain people, etc. We all have things we are believing God for, and it’s been years now. It seems like in some cases, things are getting worse instead of better. What’s up with that???
I don’t want to be like Abraham who received a promise from God and couldn’t wait for it to happen. So, he decided at the council of his wife, to fulfill God’s promise of a son himself with his wife’s servant. That was the wrong choice! Walking by faith means waiting for God to do what He says He is going to do, in His timing; which is perfect. It means not compromising on what God promised, spoke or revealed and coming to a point of accepting that maybe God will fulfill His plan and purposes not with me, but with the one who will replace me, or the one after that. Ultimately, Abraham’s promise won’t be fulfilled until the end of time. Actually, if we read Hebrews 11, all the people listed as having great faith never received what they were promised (Heb. 11:39).
If I have learned one thing from my study on faith, it is that faith has to be future focused, not earthly focused. What comes out in chapter eleven of Hebrews is best said in verse 13: “All these faithful ones died without receiving what God had promised them, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed the promises of God. They agreed that they were no more than foreigners and nomads here on earth…But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a heavenly city for them” (Heb. 11:13, 16 NLT). Walking by faith means not focusing on earthly things, and earthly rewards. We cannot expect to see what we desire to see this side of heaven. All those listed in Hebrews 11 were looking forward beyond life on earth. Like Moses: “He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him” (Heb. 11:26 NLT). I read about missionaries who sacrificed all to win a few people to Jesus, even losing multiple children to disease in their pursuit to make Christ known in foreign lands. Many of them even died on the mission field, never seeing one conversion to Christ. But as scripture says, walking by faith is not looking for immediate results, but looking forward to our eternal dwelling.
Friends, get ready for this….walking by faith is not about you or me! It is about the mission of God to seek and save the lost, to bring a people into His eternal dwelling with whom He will dwell forever. I believe we need to see ourselves participating in God’s mission even as Abraham did, “confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Heb. 11:10 NLT). Ultimately, even Jesus, our perfect example of walking by faith, was not looking at earthly rewards or immediate fruit from His ministry. He taught us to seek first the kingdom of God. We need an eternal perspective like His: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Heb. 12:1-3 NKJ). Walking by faith like Jesus did means enduring all the trials, disappointments, persecutions and struggles, without giving up, becoming weary or discouraged. It means focusing on the joy of participating in God’s salvation plan to fill the city He is building with a people for His namesake, of which I and you are part. One soul at a time; making one disciple at a time. He’s building the church (a called-out people), that’s not our job. Our job is to joyfully make disciples who love and obey Him. When I align my faith on the true purposes of God for my life, I am free to experience the joy of serving Him. It is so freeing to realize that I don’t need to build anything, God’s doing that! I just need to keep believing that one day at a time, one person at a time, as I walk in faith with my Lord, I will accomplish His purposes of making Him known – preach the gospel, make disciples, baptize and teach them to obey.
So I conclude that my conclusion is wrong… “I am walking by faith” if I focus on participating in God’s plan of saving a people for His heavenly city. It’s not what I build here that matters, it’s what He is building up there that matters. Like the saints of old, who are commended for their faith, I’m just a part of the salvation story. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” I am sure that as I preach the good news of Jesus, and sow gospel seeds, that God will touch someone’s heart to respond to the salvation message – that’s what I hope for. I am certain that as I am faithful to make disciples, people will follow Jesus wholeheartedly, even if I don’t see the results I want now. I do my part by faith, and God does the rest; and I leave the results up to Him. I participate in His plan; He doesn’t have to fulfill mine. How freeing to walk by faith!
Have a blessed week walking by faith!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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