Stepping out in faith
God told Noah to build an ark. He
told him the dimensions, the type of materials he would need, and how to put it
all together. He had never done any such thing like it in his life, and had no
experience in ship-building.
The people around would laugh at
him and mock him for such a crazy and seemingly impossible task that had no
logical purpose, and was based simply upon what he declared to be a message from
God.
God did not send him a miraculous
supply of sawn timber, nails, or waterproofing. All he had was some words from
heaven, and he wrote down the instructions as he received them.
Noah would need the help of many labourers, and faced a real uphill and mountainous task of making something so big and and ginormous in
his back garden.
Faith began when he took a shovel
and axe and began to clear some space in the fields behind his prayer tent.
I suspect that he had some good
days, and some bad days, but he kept the vision in his sight and persevered until, many, many, years later, he began to see the shape of it and the small
window being inserted into the top of the ark, high above the trees that were still standing in that area.
You do not get anywhere by
sitting on an idea, a vision, or a dream. You have to get up. You have to put on your working boots. You have to get the blunt axe out of
the shed, and start by sharpening it. Then go out and find some trees to cut
down and so clear the space for it to come to pass.
The miracle, the impossibility, will not come to you unless you first of all prepare the ground for it to arrive. ‘Prepare ye the way of the LORD’, (Isaiah40:3), is the foundation of what is being kept hidden just in the unseen future.
Make place, prepare the journey for your expected miracle.
'Prepare the way of the people!' (Isaiah 62:10). Get the people ready and in position for what is going to happen.
You have to go, break up, and prepare the ground to get it ready for sowing. You have to go out to sow the seed if you want a harvest.
Faith dares to step out and do
what nobody else can believe. Faith takes what looks like its own risks, but is
assured that those who will dare to believe that with God nothing is
impossible, they shall see the fruit of their work and efforts.
Faith throws the net out over what
may seem to be the wrong side of the ship. Faith moves ahead of tangible proof
without knowing how on earth the miracle will come. Faith marches forward, not
knowing exactly where faith is taking them.
Faith itself is the evidence of
things that are not yet seen. It is the living material, the very substance of
things hoped for. It is the hidden yeast within the dough, the natural breath
and the visible actions that show it to be real. It shouts out loud against
unbelief and doubt, and says, ‘It shall be done!’
What does your faith do for you?
What do you do with your faith that proves it is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of the existence of things not yet seen?
Pilgrim Warrior 2022
