THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WAY PART II
THE CAVE OF WITHDRAWAL PART II
It can be a crushing experience to give your very best and still fall short. Elijah had been discouraged with his inability to effect revival in God's people. He fled Jezebel and traveled south nearly two hundred miles to Horeb where he lodged in a cave on the mountain side.
Scripture tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick ( Proverbs 13:12 ). Elijah had lost hope that revival would come to Israel. When we lose hope we simultaneously lose faith, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ( Hebrews 11:1 ). Without faith or hope, all we have is a empty religion.
Do you remember how you felt when you were younger and your birthday approached? You were excited and anxious. You knew you would receive gifts and other special treats. But some things would be a surprise. Birthdays combined surprise and anticipation, and so does faith! Faith is the conviction on past experience that God's new and fresh surprise will surely be ours. Two words describe our faith: confidence and certainty. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - He is who He says He is. The ending point is believing in God's promises - He will do what He says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith: [But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you. Then said He to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, my LORD and my GOD. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed ( John 20:24 - 29 ).] Some people think they would believe in Jesus if they could see a definite sign or miracle. But Jesus says we are blessed if we believe without seeing. We have all the proof we need in the words of the Bible and the testimony of believers. A physical appearance would not make Jesus any more real to us than He is now.
It can be a crushing experience to give your very best and still fall short. Elijah had been discouraged with his inability to effect revival in God's people. He fled Jezebel and traveled south nearly two hundred miles to Horeb where he lodged in a cave on the mountain side.
Scripture tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick ( Proverbs 13:12 ). Elijah had lost hope that revival would come to Israel. When we lose hope we simultaneously lose faith, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ( Hebrews 11:1 ). Without faith or hope, all we have is a empty religion.
Do you remember how you felt when you were younger and your birthday approached? You were excited and anxious. You knew you would receive gifts and other special treats. But some things would be a surprise. Birthdays combined surprise and anticipation, and so does faith! Faith is the conviction on past experience that God's new and fresh surprise will surely be ours. Two words describe our faith: confidence and certainty. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - He is who He says He is. The ending point is believing in God's promises - He will do what He says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith: [But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you. Then said He to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, my LORD and my GOD. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed ( John 20:24 - 29 ).] Some people think they would believe in Jesus if they could see a definite sign or miracle. But Jesus says we are blessed if we believe without seeing. We have all the proof we need in the words of the Bible and the testimony of believers. A physical appearance would not make Jesus any more real to us than He is now.
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