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 seek Him (Hebrews
11:6).
The life of Wilma Rudolph, the great Olympic sprinter, is a remarkable story of
faith. Wilma was born with health problems that left her crippled. "Will I ever
be able to run and play like the other children?" Wilma asked her parents.
"Honey, you have to believe in God and never give up hope," they responded. "If
you believe, God will make it happen." Taking her parents' counsel, she
painfully struggled to walk. By the time she was 12, to the delight and surprise
of many, Wilma no longer needed her braces. She went on to play basketball on
her championship high school team and win three gold medals in the 1960
Olympics.
When you hear inspiring stories of faith like Wilma Rudolph's, do you sometimes
wonder, "What could I accomplish if I took God at His Word?" Faith is the
foundational principle of the Christian life. Believing who God is, what He
says, what He has done, and what He will do defines the kingdom of God.
Furthermore, faith is the essence of the Christian's day-to-day activity. Paul
wrote: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him"
(Colossians 2:6). How did you receive Christ? By faith. How then are you to walk
in Him? By faith. In Scripture, walking refers to the way you conduct your
everyday life. Victorious Christian living and spiritual maturity are determined
by our belief in God.
We tend to think of faith as some kind of mystical quality which belongs only in
the realm of the spiritual. But everybody walks by faith. It is the most basic
operating principle of life. The question is, in what or in whom do you believe?
We are challenged to believe in God and take His Word seriously.
Dr. Anderson, Freedom in Christ and Harvest House Publishers
www.ficm.org
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