Turning On the Switch of Faith
Turning On the Switch of Faith
By Joseph Parker
“The just shall live by faith.” – Habakkuk 2:4
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.” – 1 John 5:4
There is a very important truth that too many believers have sometimes failed to understand. Some of the promises of God are not “automatic.” We as believers and followers of Christ have a part to play. The life of a follower of Christ is not like driving an automatic transmission car – you just get in and drive. It’s more like a standard shift or four-speed – you have to know how to put it in gear. It doesn’t “shift” by itself.
Another analogy would be this one. It’s like having electricity in your house, but you do not know where the power switches are or how to turn them on. It might be fine when things are going well. What about when darkness falls? The electric power is there, but you need to know how to turn the light switch on to have the benefit of light and power.
The Lord tells us in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So very clearly, knowing how to walk in faith and how to aggressively put your faith to work in life is extremely important.
Know also whether we win or lose in the daily battles of life has much to do with knowing how to use your faith as the weapon it is. One of the great illustrations of this truth in the Word of God is found in I Samuel 17. David, even as a young man, knew how to put his faith to work, and, by the grace of God, he used it. He did use it and won a great victory for the Kingdom of God and for Israel.
Four ways to turn your faith to full-power
The following are ways we can aggressively put our faith to work in our lives:
1) Speak and stand on the Word of God and His promises daily. Speak the promises of God in His Word and stand on them every day. Even if your circumstances seem to contradict what the Word of God says, speak and stand on God’s Word anyway. God loves keeping His Word.
2) Pray the Word of God. To pray the Word of God is to pray the will of God.
3) Obey the Word of God. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22
4) Act on the Word of God (Act like you believe what the Word of God says.) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Daily we are called to aggressively use the weapon of faith along with all the armor God supplies. Ephesians 6:10–20 says,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Let us be obedient to the challenge and do this. There is much kingdom work to be done, and without us putting our faith in our heavenly Father to work, it’s not going to get done. We must be about our Father’s business.