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December 14, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 1 Samuel 17:45
Many believers today believe God has done great things in the past. They acclaim the mighty acts of God in behalf of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament and the miracles worked through his disciples in the New Testament. They are moved by the stalwart martyrs who would not renounce their faith and were burned at the stake. They acclaim those who blazed the trail through the jungles of Africa, those who have endured resistance and persecution in China, the inroads made by committed missionaries that dared to overcome every obstacle in their way to establish the gospel in foreign lands and to native tribes. They also believe that at some future time God will come in mighty power, call His own to Himself and cast Satan and his fallen angels into the bottomless pit.
How many give devoted allegiance and exercise faith in the living God for the present? God is the "same yesterday, today, and forever." He wants us to trust HIM in every phase of our life TODAY!
When David came among the soldiers of the army of Israel and recognized their fear before the defiance of Goliath and his blasphemous remarks to the God of Israel, he was grieved by the apathy and unbelief of his people. David had learned to trust God in the solitude of the hills of Bethlehem as he shepherded his sheep. God was an ever-present living reality to him. He had proved the might and power of God as he slew the lion and the bear as they attacked his sheep. Was this the skill and ability of David that accomplished this? Absolutely not. This was the power of God manifested through this teenage shepherd who dared to believe and trust God in all of his encounters. David had a vision of the living God! Facing this giant of a man and an experienced warrior was no less a challenge to his faith. To Saul and all the soldiers God was the God of the past and possibly of the future, but certainly not the God to be trusted for the "battle of today"!
We see this same fear, apathy, and unbelief among believers today. They believe in all He HAS done and some day will do, but they have no faith to trust Him for every phase of their life today. What a sad commentary of believers who seem to fill their lives with everything but the reality of a faith that dares to believe that God wants to invade our lives with the might of HIS presence and power TODAY.
Michelangelo, the famous Italian artist, painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, had a candle placed in his cap as he painted. One day someone asked him why he had this additional source of light in his cap. His answer was simple but profound. He said, "I do not want the shadow of self cast upon this glorious scene." Sadly, it's the shadow of our self-centered lives that casts its influence of unbelief on what should be an unreserved faith in the living God for today. How much we miss by not entering into the abundant triumphant life God has for us today.
What was the outcome of David's child-like faith in Almighty God? As A. W. Tozer wrote the following concerning faith, "Faith hears the inaudible, sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible." This characterized David's encounter with Goliath and God gave him the glorious victory. So it can be with you and me today.
There is nothing God cannot do in and through us when the shadow of self gets out of the way and our unbelief is changed into faith's vision of the living God of today. Don't let Satan's illusion deceive you. Dare to trust HIM in the whole of your life and He will prove Himself the Almighty God--faithful and true.
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-12-14&print=1
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