By Faith we understand (part 1): live your destiny
"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 11:3)
Read the above once again.
You will notice that it says: ‘By faith we understand..’
Read the above once again.
You will notice that it says: ‘By faith we understand..’
It does not say: ‘we understand first, then we have faith…’
Faith comes before understanding. We have faith first, then we understand. The first words of Hebrews 11:3 are the crucial order that determines our success in living the destiny that God has planned for us.
Many people struggle to believe the Scripture and to obey God’s personal instructions in their lives because they want to understand first and believe later. When God told Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (ref: Genesis 2:16-17), Adam should have believed by faith without seeking to understand the result of eating the fruit. Unfortunately, the serpent lured him and his wife into a false understanding of what the consumption of the fruit would do (ref. Genesis 3:1-12). The serpent gave them an alternative explanation of what the consumption of the fruit would do.
By listening to the serpent, Adam and Eve reversed the order mentioned in Hebrews 11:3. They placed understanding ahead of faith and troubles ensued. Not only troubles ensued but their life of privileges were cancelled.
Atheists can’t believe in God nor in His Word because they want to understand first and then believe later. They want to understand how God came to existence, why He did this or that…
When God speaks to a believer about his/her destiny, the believer must have faith in what God says and then the faith will germinate understanding. When it comes to the realisation of a destiny of a believer, between faith and understanding, there is a journey of actions that a believer must take. In James 2:26, it is written: ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.’
When it comes to the destiny of a believer, it is not enough to have received a revelation about one’s own destiny.. Many believers naively assume that their destinies will just unfold without their participation.
God plants destiny in a believer’s heart, the believer must have faith in what God said, and then the believer must render his/her faith alive through a set of actions guided or instructed by God. After executing the Godly inspired actions or instructions, an understanding will be germinated.
Let me use an example:
‘God tells brother X that he must marry a sister named Y. In the beginning, brother X may not understand why he should marry sister Y. However, brother X believes by Faith what God said and he decides to approach sister Y. Brother X does his courtship and in the process of knowing sister Y better, he finally understands why sister Y is a good fit to him.’
In the above example, the understanding would not have come to brother X if he had decided to just sit and chill while watching sister Y from afar.
Let’s take another example from the Bible:
The miracle at the Wedding in Cana is a perfect example of how understanding gets germinated when we live by faith. In John 2:1-11, Jesus, his disciples and Mary get invited to a wedding. As they were attending the wedding, came a certain time when the wine was finished. Upon such realisation, Mary involves Jesus by ‘subtly’ asking Him to do something about it. If you read the story, you will notice that Mary clearly tells the servants at the wedding: ‘Do whatever He tells you to do’.
The servants could have questioned the instructions of Jesus, especially when He told them to use jars dedicated to the washing of hands and utensils.
However, the servants obeyed Jesus. The servants showed faith after following instructions, they saw water turn into wine. Once the miracle was performed, they understood why Mary said: ‘Do whatever He tells you to do.’
There are so many divine dreams and destinies that have died or that remain abandoned or dormant simply because the recipients of God’s instructions have decided to place understanding ahead of faith. Those people want to understand first and believe later. It won’t work.
Understanding should not precede faith.
Faith precedes understanding.
Hebrews 11:3 says: ‘By faith we understand…’
Faith comes before understanding. We have faith first, then we understand. The first words of Hebrews 11:3 are the crucial order that determines our success in living the destiny that God has planned for us.
Many people struggle to believe the Scripture and to obey God’s personal instructions in their lives because they want to understand first and believe later. When God told Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (ref: Genesis 2:16-17), Adam should have believed by faith without seeking to understand the result of eating the fruit. Unfortunately, the serpent lured him and his wife into a false understanding of what the consumption of the fruit would do (ref. Genesis 3:1-12). The serpent gave them an alternative explanation of what the consumption of the fruit would do.
By listening to the serpent, Adam and Eve reversed the order mentioned in Hebrews 11:3. They placed understanding ahead of faith and troubles ensued. Not only troubles ensued but their life of privileges were cancelled.
Atheists can’t believe in God nor in His Word because they want to understand first and then believe later. They want to understand how God came to existence, why He did this or that…
When God speaks to a believer about his/her destiny, the believer must have faith in what God says and then the faith will germinate understanding. When it comes to the realisation of a destiny of a believer, between faith and understanding, there is a journey of actions that a believer must take. In James 2:26, it is written: ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.’
When it comes to the destiny of a believer, it is not enough to have received a revelation about one’s own destiny.. Many believers naively assume that their destinies will just unfold without their participation.
God plants destiny in a believer’s heart, the believer must have faith in what God said, and then the believer must render his/her faith alive through a set of actions guided or instructed by God. After executing the Godly inspired actions or instructions, an understanding will be germinated.
Let me use an example:
‘God tells brother X that he must marry a sister named Y. In the beginning, brother X may not understand why he should marry sister Y. However, brother X believes by Faith what God said and he decides to approach sister Y. Brother X does his courtship and in the process of knowing sister Y better, he finally understands why sister Y is a good fit to him.’
In the above example, the understanding would not have come to brother X if he had decided to just sit and chill while watching sister Y from afar.
Let’s take another example from the Bible:
The miracle at the Wedding in Cana is a perfect example of how understanding gets germinated when we live by faith. In John 2:1-11, Jesus, his disciples and Mary get invited to a wedding. As they were attending the wedding, came a certain time when the wine was finished. Upon such realisation, Mary involves Jesus by ‘subtly’ asking Him to do something about it. If you read the story, you will notice that Mary clearly tells the servants at the wedding: ‘Do whatever He tells you to do’.
The servants could have questioned the instructions of Jesus, especially when He told them to use jars dedicated to the washing of hands and utensils.
However, the servants obeyed Jesus. The servants showed faith after following instructions, they saw water turn into wine. Once the miracle was performed, they understood why Mary said: ‘Do whatever He tells you to do.’
There are so many divine dreams and destinies that have died or that remain abandoned or dormant simply because the recipients of God’s instructions have decided to place understanding ahead of faith. Those people want to understand first and believe later. It won’t work.
Understanding should not precede faith.
Faith precedes understanding.
Hebrews 11:3 says: ‘By faith we understand…’