Have you ever promised yourself…
When this storm passes—then I’ll rest in God.
When I’m out of debt—then I’ll trust the Lord.
When I have more experience—then I’ll live by faith.
When/then faith is not faith at all. Putting conditions on trusting God keeps us living by sight. And faith “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1 NIV).
Living by sight deprives us of joy and peace. It’s unbelief.
Waiting for an Experience?
If extraordinary experiences built strong faith, everyone who witnessed the parting of the Red Sea would have gold-medal quality faith. Yet, that’s not what happened. Remember the scene with me.
Israel stood hemmed in between Pharaoh’s approaching army and the Red Sea. Had God brought these unarmed slaves out of Egypt to destroy them?
The angel of God, who’d gone before them, moved behind them. The pillar of cloud also circled around and stood between Israel and Pharaoh’s chariots. A strong east wind whipped through their camp creating a dry path through the middle of the sea. The next day, Israel padded across between heaped walls of water.
From the other side Israel looked back. Cold fear ran down their spines. Pharaoh’s chariots raced toward them.
The chariots reached the middle and stalled, like an insect stuck on flypaper. As the chariot drivers beat their horses, the walls of water collapsed over Israel’s enemy. Israel was free. Or were they?
Would such an experience boost your faith? Except for Joshua and Caleb, Israel seemed to forget this experience. They shrank back when God told them to enter the Promised Land. Instead of comparing their enemy with God, they compared themselves with their enemy and felt like grasshoppers.
Listening to God’s Stories
In contrast to Israel’s experience, Rahab heard how God parted the Red Sea. Instead of being promised a land flowing with milk and honey, God promised to overthrow her people.
Who had more reason to trust God? Israel or Rahab? Yet, with little knowledge and no experience, Rahab acted on what she knew.
Who had more reason to trust God? Israel or Rahab? Yet, with little knowledge and no experience, Rahab acted on what she knew. #RechargeWednesday Click To Tweet“In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:25-26 NIV).
Rahab hid the two Hebrews and asked them to spare her family’s lives. They agreed under the condition she stayed put in her house. The spies didn’t know God planned to crumble the wall Rahab’s house was built into.
Rahab obeyed and stood on God’s promise—
Even when the wall on which her house stood crumpled…
Even when screams pierced her ears and her family wanted to bolt.
God saved Rahab and her family. Four New Testament books remember her. Two hold her up as an example of faith.
Hundreds of thousands of fighting-aged adults crossed the Red Sea, but only Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land. More knowledge and more experience didn’t make great faith.
Israel focused on the size of their problem and died in the wilderness. Rahab focused on the size of God and became part of God’s people and Christ’s genealogy.
Are storms, illnesses, or human errors bigger than your God? The crashing of Jericho’s walls felt like Rahab’s destruction, but they signaled her deliverance. Unshakable faith is built on the character of God, not on experiences.
Want to know more about Rahab and our Big God? Check out Little Women, Big God.
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“Unshakable faith built on the character of God…”
Yes! My feeling come and go.
And I do love Rahab’s big heart.
Me too, Michele. She’s quite a gal.
What a good contrast. We can have lots of knowledge and experience and still falter and fail. Like Rahab, we need to act on and trust for what we do know–that God is the one true God and big and powerful enough to take care of any situation.
Yes! He never changes. Thanks, Barbara.
Thx for your touching and meaningful blog on our Heavenly Father. So many earthly fathers are absent we need to be reminded that God our Father is ever present…
Jan
I don’t intentionally put limits on my trust. My deepest desire is to trust God fully. It’s the day to day practice of it that I fail in daily – causing worry and stress. Thanks for talking about this.
Lauren, learning to walk by faith is much like learning to walk physically, isn’t it? It includes stumbles and falls. God sees your desire to please Him and is thrilled!
Debbie, I remember reading this in the book! It’s so powerful. Thank you, what a precious reminder today of unshakable faith being built on God, not our experiences!
Thank you, Bethany!
Debbie, great post. Sorry I’m just now circling back to re-read and leave a comment. Israel and Rahab are both good examples of unshakable faith. And I’ve always loved Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” (NIV)
Karen, what an amazing verse. Thank you for highlighting it.