"Man Up!" - Authoritative Faith

When I took a final peek at the weather forecast last night before retiring for evening, the weather app on my phone was predicting a 40% to 60% chance for light snow in the early hours of the next day ending around 9:00 AM.  But alas, when I pulled open the curtains a little past 7:30 this morning, I was greeted by a green expanse of lawn and trees with what looked like the brightest red Cardinal I’d ever seen on a perch near our play structure as the sun was just beginning to slip through the light cloud cover.

Now, don’t get me wrong… I enjoy an occasional light dusting of snow, but after the snow and ice storm we endured a few weeks back, I would much rather wake up to sunny skies, the luxurious green that seems to encapsulate our property, and the beauty of God’s wildlife living in the nearby woods.  Did I mention that I was greeted earlier this week when I opened the dining room curtains by a big friendly looking gray squirrel who was foraging around our deck?  You sure don’t see them that big or that healthy back where I come from!  This guy reminded me of the one’s we’d see high up in the Sierras in northeastern California.

The sun that replaced the prediction of snow this morning is similar to how we should believe our bold, confident and authoritative acts of faith to work.  Hebrews 11:1 in the God’s Word © translation informs us that “Faith assures us of the things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.”  When I went to bed last night I was believing that Papa God would make a way for us to be able to drive into town today so I could get some needed supplies from The Home Depot.  If it had snowed I most likely would not be able to make the trip as it is difficult to maneuver my wife’s transport chair in the snow!  So, when I leaned over and turned off the light on the bed stand, I was expecting to see the sun, dry streets and warm enough temperatures to comfortably take my wife outside.

My expectancy in God, His Word and His answers to my prayerful requests gave me an authoritative attitude concerning what I would see in the morning… and that’s exactly what I saw!  But when I looked out the window did I puff up my chest and strut around the house as if I did something great?  Not on your life!  If the dog could attest to it (as she was the only one in the front room of the house with me at the time…) she would tell you that I praised the Lord and thanked Him for His faithfulness!

I believe that Papa God not only wants us to pray authoritatively like we discussed in our last post, but that He also wants us to have a faith in Him that is demonstrated by authoritative actions based on the Word that we are standing on.  I guess you could call it Authoritative Faith!  The so called roll call of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven tells us that faith assures, faith expects, faith convinces, faith leads, faith enables and faith conquers.  It also declares that Papa God accepts our faith and the consequent actions we take based on our unswerving faith in Him and His Word… AND I have come to personally experience that He does this even if we blow it somewhere along the way!

I believe that this is the reason my wife and I have always ended up on our feet even when we (read that: “I”) have made some stupid mistakes in the process.  We have always tried to learn from our mistakes by asking for forgiveness and then wisdom on how to not do the same thing again, and then look with expectation to the next opportunity to step out in faith with Him!  I know that our resiliency has baffled and most likely frustrated a few folks in the process… but the bottom line is that we answer to God and not to man!

Our ability to take a stand of faith with the knowledge that He assures us of His truth working in our behalf, empowers our expectations of success, convinces us of our abilities to see it through, gives us the peace that He will lead us and enable us through the hard parts of the journey and strengthens our resolve that our actions will conquer any and all obstacles that will inevitably try to come between us and the prize of what we are standing in faith for.  The knowledge of all this can’t help but give us an authoritative attitude throughout our journey of faith… don’t you agree?  And the exciting part is that according to Hebrews 11:6 this kind of faith is pleasing to God.  That’s why He is accepting of us and the actions we take and is there to help us learn through the mistakes in order to empower and mature us for the next faith adventure He has for us.

I tend to get real excited when I hear things like this!  It definitely makes me want to take another faith filled journey with God as I endeavor to follow His will for my life. How about you?  Have you ever considered how authoritative your faith is?

Have a great weekend!  We’ve got mostly sunny skies forecasted for the next couple of days and I plan to make the most of it… and as I do, I’ll be asking myself… “What steps of authoritative faith am I expecting to take today?”