Heart Matters: “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
How often are you seeking God…now that He’s found you? As believers, surely, we understand the importance of the role of faith. Afterall, we were “…saved by grace through faith.” Ephesians 2:8. His grace (and love), expressed by Jesus’ finished work on the cross (such a gift!); our faith, believing that Jesus is Who He claims to be and that He did what He came to do. It is finished! And yet once we find new life in Christ, this thing called faith is to continue on growing and flourishing!
Faith is the foundation for our walk and obedience to Christ. We must believe Him in order to act! How else do we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses daily, and follow Him? Luke 9:23. In the Scripture for today we see that our faith-believing God for what we cannot see-is very pleasing to the LORD. A large part of our sanctification process is learning to trust HIM.
“For he who comes to God…” This coming to God is not only the one-time event of the moment we believed. Our salvation is only the beginning and our going to God is to be a daily practice of our lives-lest we forget just how much we need Him for “…all things pertaining to life and godliness.”2nd Peter 1:3. Our very lives are to be centered around our connection and intimacy with Christ. That intimacy being Jesus’ ultimate goal for us this side of heaven.
One can clearly see that Hebrews 11:6 is about seeking the LORD for a greater intimacy with Him. However, we mustn’t miss that like most principles found in Scripture, this verse is not merely one dimensional. We are to seek God not only for greater depth of intimacy but also for every area of our daily lives. Autonomy isn’t our friend; we are to “live, move and have our being”in Christ Jesus. Acts 17:28. As we exist in this sin-stained world, we should be seeking the LORD for all matters and circumstances of our lives! And get this-according to Hebrews 11:6, when we do (look to Him for His will, His direction, and be willing to obey His guidance), we will be rewarded for having done so!
How awesome of the Lord to provide us with a means of counter acting our flesh! Inviting God into our decision-making process and acting upon our belief in Him eliminates selfish motives and vain conceit. The only reason we are even able to seek the Lord for life matters is because of the presence of The Holy Spirit in our lives! The Word says it is Him causing us to want to do His will (Philippians 2:13). Furthermore, Jesus makes it clear that “…apart from Him, we can do nothing.” John 15:5. That is, without Jesus and His Spirit working in and through us, we can’t do anything that is good, right, worthy, or excellent!
Why not seek and connect to the only ONE Who completely understands our circumstances and knows the condition of our hearts? The difficult decisions when handled with Christ can evolve into solid conclusions- in which we are either obeying how He leads, or trusting where He has us. Since Jesus is the greatest reward we could even receive-diligently seeking Him is always a win/win!
Jesus knows all about it. He knows how your heart has been torn, broken, misused. He knows all the injustices you have ever faced. He knows how difficult it is for you not to walk in victimization. He knows where your strength is growing weary and all the areas you feel justified in lashing out. He can handle every single bit of it…only give it all to Him.
Remember He pursued you; He has you, and He will keep you. Stay close to Jesus. Diligently seek Him and His will for every area of your life and then obey Him. Remember that apart from Him you can do nothing; but in Him you can do all things because He Himself will give you the strength (Phil 4: 13).
HEART TO HEART: APART FROM CHRIST-YOU CAN DO NOTHING; BUT IN HIM YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS!