My favorite Chapter in the Bible is Hebrews 11, the faith Chapter. As a young Christian I remember being so hungry for the Word of God, and reading the faith Chapter for the first time. I was so struck by the beauty and awesomeness of it. We read how the great Champions of faith achieved great things when they exercised faith in God. Towards the end of the Chapter we read how others endured great suffering in faith and didn’t receive what was promised to them. Faith requires an element of risk, even persecution and suffering. We can be sure that we will never receive the benefits and rewards of faith unless we’re willing to put it into action!
My mentor in the ministry asked the great Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke what his key to success in ministry was. For Evangelist Bonnke the answer was very simple “Boldness and action!” Reinhard Bonnke is one of the most prolific Evangelists on the world stage today and it is because he has been willing to obey God and take bold steps of faith! Great rewards, follow great risks in faith!
There is an upside and a downside to taking a step of faith and it’s how we manage that downside that determines our longevity when it comes to stepping out in faith! Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water began to sink and fail but the Lord caught His hand and helped him up. (Matthew 14:22-33) I love Peter he was willing to give things a chance, to step out in boldness and faith and take a risk!
Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Thomas Edison brought electric light into our world because he wasn’t easily discouraged by failure. He wasn’t afraid to take a leap of faith and try something new and different. He must have had times of tremendous discouragement in his life’s journey but he pressed through past that discouragement to achieve his goals.
There is a risk with faith and it we only see the results of it when we act! In one of our early Gospel Events in India, we had close to 20,000 people in attendance on the final night, we prayed for the sick and only a few people came up to testify. It was a difficult moment for me. I had put all of my faith on the line and the results were so limited. I was disappointed, but then I had to remind myself, it is better to have tried and be feeling these kinds of feelings than never to have tried at all.
I encouraged myself in the Lord. We saw close to 3,000 people receive Christ at that event. Thousands were exposed to the life changing message of the gospel for the first time. I had to remind myself that even when we don’t see the results we are hoping for, God’s word is still true and I was determined to continue to proclaim it! I remember the next Crusade we had in Bolivia, we had so many miracle testimonies we didn’t have time to take them all! Almost every person we prayed for got healed.
Dealing with discouragement and disappointment is part of a life of faith. If you want to experience success, you have to learn to be good at responding to disappointments and setbacks! I remind myself sometimes that I need to be happy that I feel a little disappointed, it’s proof I took a risk, that I tried. I’ve had well meaning friends tell me, I had no reason to be disappointed and that the results are with God, and it’s true ultimately our concern needs to be with obeying God and leaving the results with Him.
I also believe disappointment can be a faith driver, that can drive us to believe God for more, to trust God more to take even greater steps of faith. We also need to be reminded in times of disappointment that if we are being obedient to God, even apparent failure is success in the eyes of God. Not one step of faith and obedience to God is ever wasted! Not one!
Hebrews 11: 32-40 tells us: “ And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
I love this passage! It details the wonderful exploits of the people of God and then for those who were persecuted for their faith and remained obedient, the Bible says they were commended for their faith! We need to remember that in difficult times, even if we don’t see everything God has promised manifest in this lifetime, that God has something better planned in eternity! The way we live in this life impacts our eternal destiny!
Today I want to encourage you, it is better to step out in faith being obedient to God and trusting God than never to have tried at all. Don’t allow the fear of failure discourage you. Remember every step of faith and obedience you take is watched over by God Almighty Himself! No step of faith is in vain! The upside of stepping out in faith is as you persevere you will begin to experience breakthrough like you have never seen before. Don’t be discouraged today, take that step of faith!
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