Let's GoSample

By Faith

By S. George Thomas

It was completely unexpected. Never in a million years could he have dreamed that God would show up that day and tell him to start building a big boat because a flood was coming. Although it had never rained before, Noah believed God, and by faith, he began to build an ark when he was 480 years old. Over the next 120 years, as he painstakingly labored to construct that boat, there must have been instances when he wondered if had imagined what God had spoken to him, times when he questioned his own sanity. Warning the world of judgment and doom definitely didn’t make him very popular. His neighbors and family mocked him day after day after day. But then one day, the animals came and it started to rain. And Noah and his family were saved.

When Abraham was 75 years old, God spoke to him and said that He was going to make Abraham the father of a great and mighty nation. He told him to pack up everything he owned and head out to a strange and unknown land. Although he didn’t know where God was going to lead him and in spite of the fact that he and his wife, Sarah, were old and infertile, Abraham obeyed God without a hint of doubt or disbelief. By faith, he left his home and began to journey towards where God was leading. Twenty-five years later, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah through the birth of their son Isaac.

After the death of Moses—his leader and mentor—Joshua, at the age of 85, was appointed by God to carry on the mantle of Moses and lead more than two and a half million Israelites into the Promised Land. The first place they came to was Jericho—a massively fortified city with walls so thick that people built their homes on top of it. God told Joshua to have all of his soldiers march around Jericho once a day for six days in a row. On the seventh day, they were to march around the entire city seven times and then blow their trumpets and shout. If Joshua followed all of those instructions, God promised to deliver Jericho into his hands. Although it was an unorthodox method of warfare, Joshua obeyed God, and by faith, the people of Israel marched around Jericho. And on the seventh day, the walls of Jericho crumbled to the ground.

What one thing did Noah, Abraham and Joshua have in common? According to Hebrews 11, when God called them to go, each of them obeyed by faith. The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Each of these men exemplified that kind of faith with their lives. They placed their hope in God and faithfully believed His promise to them. Noah labored for years without any sign that rain was going to come. Abraham left the only home he’d ever known to go where God led him. Facing insurmountable odds, Joshua led the children of Israel in a march around Jericho. And what happened because of their faith? God saved Noah and his family. God gave Abraham and Sarah a baby boy. And God destroyed the walls of Jericho.

God called each of those three men to go and do something that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. And because of their faith, God worked supernaturally in each of their lives to accomplish His will. Even when all the evidence seemed to point to the contrary, they continued to believe that God would be faithful to do what He said He would do.

Noah, Abraham, and Joshua were just ordinary men called by God to do something extraordinary. Most people would look at them and say that they were just too old to ever do something great for God or that their circumstances were too hopeless to ever be turned around into something good. But because of their faith and their obedience, God was able to use them in incredible ways for His glory.

As believers, we serve the same God, and He is calling each of us to step out in faith and follow Him wherever He leads. Stop for a moment and consider this: Is God calling you to go and do something that doesn’t make much sense? He may be calling you to serve Him by ministering to people in a different country. He may be calling you to take a pay cut and go to a different job. He may be calling you to do something for Him that everyone else thinks is crazy but you know is right. If so, step out by faith and trust Him to help you accomplish what He is calling you to do.

Memory Verse

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19–20