Monday, April 7, 2014

Hebrews 11:6-8 -- On Faith To Take the Next Step

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."
Hebrews 11:6-8


These are some great examples of faith.  It takes a lot of faith to get a specific message from God in the first place about a future event... and then to act on it and build a boat on dry ground, where people could mock it and ridicule your belief... probably very hard.  Abraham picked up and moved for God, leaving civilization behind, not knowing where he was going.  Just went.  That's hard.  Similar things happened to Lehi, Nephi, and many other people we read about in the scriptures.
The act of faith can sometimes be challenging and uncomfortable.  If we *truly* do not know whether God is there, it is tough just to get on our knees and ask.  It's tough to be open to something that other people scorn... to find our for ourselves rather than relying on popular opinion.  And as we continue down God's path, the more it diverges in some ways from popular opinion.  And the more we seem to be walking into the unknown or doing things that don't make sense out of context.  And yet, with God they do make sense, and they fit logically into a world and a life where God exists.  And he *does.*  As we learn more about God, and communicate with him, the more our relationship with God will allow us to see beyond the limits of conventional wisdom.  We'll do things that look to others like blind obedience.  We'll trust God and walk into situations that we can't possibly plan ahead for... because God has planned ahead for us.
Today, let's remember that faith does not equal foolishness.  The wisdom of God trumps all the wisdom of man.  Let's not be swayed by popular opinion or people who think that they know better than God.  Let's look to God, and listen to his warnings.  Let's follow him and do his will, even if we don't always know where the next step will take us.  God is trustworthy, and he loves us, and he will never lead us astray.

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