So much is happening in the world today that is putting a lot of demand on our Faith like never before. Irrespective of what it is, God wants us to be exceptional and come out of whatever it is that is contending with us. That provision of God that would help us is embedded in Faith and so, I want to briefly share with us what has been titled: Manifesting Faith in Challenging Times.

 

 

Download Podcast: MANIFESTING FAITH IN CHALLENGING TIMES

 

“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So, when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their Faith, He said to the Paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:3-5)

 

The very first understanding that could be seen from the passage above is the fact that Faith can be seen. It is possible for your Faith to be seen, if you are really standing in Faith. The Bible says “Jesus saw their Faith.” How? By the extent the people that brought the paralytic man went to see that he received his healing from the Lord. The Bible says “they uncovered the roof of the house where Jesus was, and they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.”  There was no way in through the major entrance, but that did not discourage them. They did not turn back from there and took the paralytic man back to his house. That showed some degree of effort on their part and how much they trusted that Jesus could bring about the solution that they needed.

 

The first manifestation of Faith in challenging times is evidenced by the things you do — not the things you do out of desperation, but the things you do out of conviction. People could be so desperate to get out of whatever it is that is posing a challenge by doing all manner of things that does not bring glory to the name of God. You see, you must understand that Faith does not produce result under desperation, Faith only produces results under strong conviction.

 

In James 2:21-22 and 26, the Bible says: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that Faith was working together with his works, and by works Faith was made perfect? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so Faith without works is dead also.”  So, there is a strong nexus between Faith and works! What you do or do not do in difficult times would determine whether you are in Faith or not.

 

It is one thing to claim that you are in Faith and it is another thing to absolutely show it by the things you do. One way through which God was able to see that Abraham was in Faith was when He asked him to sacrifice Isaac. In the sight of Abraham, it was a Faith adventure. In the sight of God, it was works. You cannot claim that you are in Faith if you will not do things that are consistent with your Faith. It would be like having a beautiful goal and not working towards achieving that goal. The things you do on a daily basis must take you closer and closer towards achieving that goal. That is how Faith and works go hand in hand as well.

 

Take for example, the woman with the issue of blood. The woman with the issue of blood first of all, had Faith that she could be healed by Jesus. Now, I want you to notice something! Jesus was not there when she was thinking about it. Matthew 9:21 shows us her thought: “For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But she did not remain at this though level. She simply got up on her feet and walked her way through the crowds to touch Jesus’ garment. Now, that action alone is what is known as works!

 

Another example is the four leprous guys in the book of 2 Kings 7 from verse 3-8. If they had remained where they were, they would have starved to death. But they decide to move and God miraculously did something on their behalf. You see, what you do during your difficult times would either propel God to do something or repel Him to act on your behalf. It is true that God wants to rely on Him absolutely, but He also wants us to act in line with that absolute reliance.

 

The second manifestation of Faith in challenging times is evidenced in Hebrews 10:23 (AMPC). The Bible says: “So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and Faithful to His word.” The greatest disservice you will do to yourself during a difficult period or circumstances is to lose hope. One of the things the Bible says about hope is to abide in it, and not to lose it.

 

1 Corinthians 13:13 says “And now abide Faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” To abide in something means to “stay or live somewhere”, it also means “to remain or continue” in something. We were told during last week’s Leadership Fellowship meeting that where you abide shows your location. The moment you lose hope during a difficult circumstance, you have simply lost one leg of the tripod — Faith, hope, love and therefore to stand will become absolutely difficult.

 

The moment you lose hope, the devil is on the verge of winning the battle. This is why you must constantly abide in hope, knowing and believing that God is able to bring you out of that difficult circumstances. Romans 15:13 tells us: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Did you see that? It is the same way that we are filled by the Holy Spirit that we should also be filled with hope. You may have lost your job during this Covid-19 pandemic, be hopeful that you would get another one. You may have been trusting God for the fruit of the womb for several years now, be hopeful that God is working it all out. Never get to that corner that you lose your hope. The Bible said concerning Abraham: “who against hope believed in hope.” This should be our posture during a challenging time.

 

The Bible hope is the assurance that God is able to do what He has promised, and the strength of that promise is in God’s Faithfulness. In Numbers 23:19, the Bible says:

 

“God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

 

The third manifestation of Faith in challenging times is evidenced in LOVE. Galatians 5:6 says “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but Faith working through love.” Under no circumstances should you allow your current circumstances to erode you of loving. The apostle Paul wrote in that passage that Faith works through love. In Colossians 1:3-4, he also said something related to this. It says: “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ⁴ since we heard of your Faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints.”

 

The fourth manifestation of Faith in challenging times is evidenced in your profession — the things you say! There is something known as the profession of Faith. Much more than the things you do during a difficult period, the things you profess also matters a lot. The things you profess would determine whether you will be saved from that unhealthy circumstances that you have found yourself or whether you would be consumed by it. What then do you profess? Romans 10:8 & 10 shows us! “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of Faith which we preach): 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

 

The first thing you profess is the word of God. Joshua 1:8 (CSB —Christian Standard Bible) says: “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”  Noticed it called the word of God the book of instruction, instructions to getting out of every trouble that life may have thrown at you. Prophet Isaiah also said something similar in Isaiah 34:16. The Bible says:

 

“Search from the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.”

 

Isaiah said by the Spirit of God that the word of God does not fail. And this is why it is of paramount importance that you know and understand the word of God concerning your situation and circumstances.

 

The fifth manifestation of Faith in challenging times is evidenced in your devotion to God. In Luke 1:5-7, the Bible says: “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.”

 

Despite the fact that this couple were well advanced in age, and did not have any child, there devotion to God was not affected. Irrespective of what you are going through, never ever leave the side of God. Don’t because of desperation abandon your devotion to God, because it is in the midst of that devotion that God would reach out to you. Verse 8-14 showed us what happened next.

 

“So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

 

Imagine if Zachariah had not showed up at the temple that day to do what he had always done. Imagine if the bareness of Elizabeth at the time have one way or the other, made him to stop his devotion to God. He would have missed out of that appointment. It was while at it that the angel of the Lord showed up! In your difficult moments is when you should seek God more because in those moments, God is closer to you more than you could ever imagine. In Isaiah 43:1-2, the Bible says:

 

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.

 

I believe there is someone out there reading this who would love to trust God more than ever before, even though their present reality is telling them to do otherwise. What God demands from you is absolute trust in Him and nothing more. God said to Abraham: “I know what you are going through, I know that you do not have a child yet, even though you had waited for it. But walk before me and be though perfect.” God sees you, more than you could ever see yourself, He knows your predicaments. He knows the daily challenges that you have to go through just to stay afloat, but He wants you to trust Him even while you are going through it.

 

I just want to implore you to trust in the Lord and then see His salvation.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!