FAITH UNDER FIRE | FAITH ON FIRE
Faith. It is the very heartbeat of the Christian life. Without faith in God, without faith in a saviour, without faith in a way of salvation, we have nothing. Our Christian walk is without the air it needs to breathe. Without faith we are parched wanderers in a desert wilderness gasping for water. So what do we do when we feel like our faith is under fire?
Picture Moses walking down the palace corridors towards Pharaoh with a message from God that Moses knows Pharaoh is not going to accept! Imagine in those anxious and fear filled moments with each step he took what was going through his mind and heart. Would Pharaoh simply dismiss him? Would Pharaoh fly into a rage and order Moses’ immediate execution? Would he have Moses flogged or dragged into slavery with the rest of the Hebrew people. Moses had no idea what was going to happen in these next few tense moments. All he had to lean on was faith that God had given him a message for Pharaoh, and right now his faith was under fire!
‘Under fire’ suggests that one’s faith is being put to the test, and the pressure has been turned up, but it is for these moments that we need faith! It is here where we get to see what our faith is made of and how strong it is. Faith is when doubt, fears, and anxieties threaten to creep in and gnaw away at our faith like termites at the wooden posts of a door frame, and yet these moments are so necessary and much needed. Every man or woman of God in the Bible faced moments when their faith came under fire. It made them stronger. It transformed their faith from being under fire to unshakeable faith that was ignited; faith on fire!
‘Faith on fire’ is faith in action, living faith, dynamic faith. It is a stepping out from our comfort zone into that space where God operates and is at work. It is not an absence of doubt, fear, or anxiety but facing our doubts and anxieties with boldness and courage because you KNOW Him who has gone before you and called you. Faith on fire is faith anchored to the character of God and built on the firm foundation of what God has done. Therefore, because of God’s Sovereign nature, we can walk by faith and not by sight (2Corinthians 5:17).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also found their faith under fire. However, it was king Nebuchadnezzar putting their faith under fire that set their faith on fire.
Faith needs ‘fire’, the trials and challenges of everyday life, to be made real and to work. Fire activates our faith; therefore, faith needs three important ingredients:
1. Courage: The willingness to act or do something despite fear or anxiety.
2. Boldness: A step beyond courage; it is confident and assured action.
3. Trust in God: Faith is not just positive thinking; however, it is trusting God and His Word, leaning on Him, and doing what you believe He has called you to do.
Maybe faith is difficult for you right now because of circumstances or struggles that you are enduring, or maybe you know someone struggling with faith. Many people are. This is a real need today. So in order to resource you and to encourage our district, we have put together our conference with the purpose of stoking your faith.
This year’s conference is about igniting faith or helping to fan faith from an ember into a blaze. We have invited two speakers whom I believe are both skilled and gifted to do this. Our workshops are designed to mutually encourage and build participants’ faith. ‘Stories from the district’ on Friday evening will give us glimpses into what God is doing in peoples’ lives and across our district churches. So if you are feeling like your faith is under fire, can I encourage you to register because I know you will leave there with your faith on fire!
Here is another challenge to step out in faith: Some folk cannot afford the cost of conference but would very much love to be there, and maybe they need to be there. I wish we could offer this conference for free, but there are costs involved. Would you consider sponsoring someone or give towards the cost of someone’s conference fee? This is more than a donation, it is an investment in someone else’s spiritual growth and an investment into the Kingdom of God. I knowthis may not be easy nor comfortable, but it would be a step of faith. We are praying for God to raise up people to do this as we plan for a faith-inspiring conference in March.
