Courageous Choices Part 3Sample

BY FAITH

Look at the “hall of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11. Notice that most of the faithful did not see the completion of their faith in their lifetime. That didn’t stop them from living in faith and obeying God in the hard stuff. All of them failed at times but that didn’t stop them from believing God and overall being faithful.

Notice how Paul says our faith is built in Romans 10:17-

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Would you agree that we often can’t control the outcome of specific situations or even our entire lives, but we can control our actions and our obedience? Not that our actions or obedience guarantees any specific outcome, especially not salvation. That comes only from the work of Jesus, and nothing of our own doing. But we can control our response to God’s call for obedience. And we do this by faith. By faith, we can obey God, even when it’s hard. By faith, we can obey God by being patient and supportive spouses, even if our marriage is in trouble or ends in divorce. By faith, we can carefully raise our children to be sensible and love Jesus, even if they wander far from responsibility or from God. By faith, we can give of our financial resources or our time, even if we never see material prosperity or the fruits of our labor. No matter the outcome, in all of these circumstances or more, we can say: Obeying God is hard but worth it. Even if we must wait until the other side of eternity to appreciate it fully.

Ask Yourself:

-How am I being faithful to obey God in my relationships? In my private life? In my work/school?

Pause to Pray: Ask God to enable you to consistently access His word so that you might grow your faith. Pray that His Spirit guides you in His word and councils you so you might obey and follow Jesus.

Take a Next Step:

-Obeying God is not always easy! And you don’t have to do it alone. Find a friend or a mentor who you trust to ask you hard questions about faith and obedience in this season of making courageous choices.

Find more resources at www.whoisgrace.com/READ.