The weakness of faith

Today's journey in learning how to "walk by faith" takes us to the highlighted verse of 1st Corinthians chapter 1. "God has chosen the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong."
1Co 1:25- 29, " Because what seems foolish in God is wiser than men; and what seems feeble in God is stronger than men. For you see God's design for you, my brothers, that he has not taken a great number of the wise after the flesh, not the strong, not the noble: But God made selection of the foolish things of this world so that he might put the wise to shame; and the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong; And the low things of the world, and the things without honor, did God make selection of, yes, even the things which are not, so that he might make as nothing the things which are: So that no flesh might have glory before God."

The king James version says, "and the weak things of this world to confound the things that are mighty." The word weak means :not strong; liable to yield, break, or collapse under pressure or strain; fragile; frail. To understand what the walk of faith requires to God, we must understand the need for human weakness. Considering what most people think faith consists of is the following. Their faith rest in their own power to do something in the strength of their own convictions. We would call this "mental agreement." Much of what we call faith in the Body of Christ is the leaning upon our own goodness, strength and ability to get something accomplished with God's help! This is mindset that starts out to do something for God and wants God to bless their efforts.

Human energy and exercise can accomplish great things and build great edifices. All we have to do is go to New York City and see what man can build as in skyscrapers and tall buildings. In the church, we can build mega-ministries, reach thousands of people for Christ, yet in all these things we can do it without the faith of God. We can do all these things in the faith of our "own" ability to believe God is blessing our efforts.

What is the difference between intellectual faith that rests in our ability and that God must be with us to bless the works of our hands, and the true God-kind of faith? The answer is found in what 1 Corinthians chapter 1 teaches us: "and God chooses the feeble things, the thinks that are not strong, liable to yield or break to put to shame the strong."

A good example of this is God's selection of Gideon. In Judges 6:11-12 we read,"And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Gideon was hiding behind an oak tree threshing his wheat. He was hiding from the Mideonites, yet God looked and found a man He could use. A man who was not strong outwardly, but able to yield to Him. A man not able to stand the strain of battle in his own strength, but would have to rely on God who would be with him.

Look at Gideon’s answer and understand the ingredient God needs for us to walk by faith. Judges 6:14-15. "And Jehovah turned unto him and said, `Go in this--thy power; and thou hast saved Israel out of the hand of Midian--have not I sent thee.' And he said unto him, `O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief is weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.' O beloved, listen to his testimony, “ O My Lord, YOUR SERVANT IS WEAK AND I THE LEAST IN MY HOUSE!” See what God is looking for in us in order to walk by faith and not by sight.

There were many military men in the House of Israel much more qualified to lead Israel, but God didn’t pick them. Why? Because they would rested in their own ability and power. Their faith would have been in their own resources. Often in our walk in faith, God requires us to become empty, weak and powerless that our faith lay in His power and not our own.

If you remember the story of Moses, he was raised in all the ways of Egypt. When He recognized His call to deliver Israel from slavery he starts out in the STRENGTH OF WHAT HE KNOWS, the ways of Egypt .He ends us killing two Egyptians in the power of his own strength. Yet God did choose him to be the deliverer of His people, but first God had to prepare him. He allowed Moses to be chased from Egypt to the desert to become a shepherd over sheep for 40 years.

For over 40 years, God had to reduce this man and his call until it was completely dead. This death is what God calls weakness. Moses became “not strong, liable to yield, break and collapse under the pressure in his own power. When God finally called to Moses from the burning bush, Moses gave a completely different reply than when He was in Egypt.

Let us look at this new encounter with God. Exodus 3:7-11 “And God said, Truly, I have seen the grief of my people in Egypt, and their cry because of their cruel masters has come to my ears; for I have knowledge of their sorrows; And I have come down to take them out of the hands of the Egyptians, guiding them out of that land into a good land and wide, into a land flowing with milk and honey; into the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. For now, truly, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the cruel behavior of the Egyptians to them. Come, then, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may take my people,the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said to God, "Who am I to go to Pharaoh and take the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Do you see the difference? Moses had to be made weak so God could be strong. So many of us believers will not allow the Lord to do this work in our hearts. We can never truly walk by faith or with the faith of God as our power if we continue to fight against God emptying us.

Every day He brings us to places in our walk where we "cant" love, forgive, give something, say something or do something." We often get frustrated because we sure do try to do it, but time after time we just fail. We get angry with God and quit or give up in learning His ways. We think our own strength is enough, and we should be able to do it "ourselves." Beloved, when it comes to God's word and direction for us we can NEVER DO IT OURSELVES! We must do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

The Apostle Paul learned this when he cried out to the lord 3 times to take the thorn out of his flesh, but listen to the Lord’s answer to him and understand why God chooses the weak to confound the strong. 2Co 12:9, “And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Beloved, when we walk by faith and not by sight, every step we take is in absolute weakness and inability. Faith requires trusting in God’s ability and not your own. God’s power is made PERFECT IN WEAKNESS . No more is this seen then in the process of the making of the Bride as shown in the Song of Solomon.

In the beginning of her walk to be a bride, she is full of her own sufficiency and strength. She sees the Lord as someone to supply her needs as she goes about her own business. At the end of the book in chapter 8 a different picture is given to us of her life that has allowed the Lord to work in her heart. The process of brokenness and weakness is allowed to work in her life, and now she looks finally made ready to walk by faith with Him, her Bridegroom.

The bible describes the bride in her end-time positional walk with the Lord like this, Son 8:5 says, "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee: There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail that brought thee forth."

Beloved, this is the true posture of walking by faith. The leaning of your entire personality upon the Lord for His word, His life, His power and everything that He is. Only then are you ready to live a life of true faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, "For He that comes to God must believe HE IS, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

For your faith must never rest in the wisdom and power of man, but only in the strength and power of the Lord. This is what the Word God speaks does to those who walk by faith. It can take a shepherd and use him to deliver Israel from Egypt. It will use a little shepherd boy to slay a great giant. When God speaks a word to someone who is weak, they become enabled to do “super-natural” works by the power of God. Such a Word from God came to Gideon hiding under a oak tree, and it made him a mighty man of valor!

Beloved this is your God and this is your detiny. The just shall live by faith! The God of the impossible is your God. Let him empty you of your own power, understanding, strength and wisdom to give you his grace that is sufficient for you to walk by faith.

Pray right now and ask the Lord to remove all that is hindering you from living the true life of faith. Ask Him to fill you with the Spirit of Grace like He did with Apostle Paul. God's grace is His power, ablity and might and is the only source that can cause you to walk by faith and not by sight. Remember faith is active and it walks where God walks. Walking by faith is: a Bride coming forth from the wilderness leaning upon our Beloved.