Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)
Do You Fear the Unknown
In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the young generation of Israelites about God’s goodness and His contract with His people.
God led the older generation of Israelites to the Promised Land and told them to go in and live there. But they were full of doubt and fear. They remained outside the land, disobeying God. They wandered for 40 years, afraid to trust God. Ultimately, they died in the wilderness because they wanted to trust themselves rather than God. They never knew the Promised Land.
“See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 1:21
How many times do we disobey God by rejecting His new opportunities (His plans) for our lives? Our human instinct is to fear the unknown and failure. Like the older Israelites, when we give in to fear, we become disobedient. And when Satan sees God working in our lives, he is right there cheering us on to self-righteousness.
Obey God’s Direction
Faith is the belief in something we cannot see. A Christian’s first act of faith comes when we accept God’s gift of salvation through a relationship with His son Jesus. From there, our next acts of faith come when we obey God’s directions on our journey through life. He will ask us to do things we have never done; many things will seem impossible to accomplish (like entering the Promised Land). He is asking us to have faith in Him to see us through the task. How many times do we doubt Him?
Spiritual Check-Up
As Paul reminded the people of Corinth, we cannot mature as Christians without a deep faith. He told the Corinthians they needed a spiritual check-up. He told them to examine their hearts and lives and ask themselves:
- Were they maintaining a spiritual awareness of God’s presence in their lives?
- Were they growing in relationship with Him?
Deep-rooted faith renders a servant’s heart and the endless desire to be with Jesus all the time. God’s gifts come in good faith. He has already paved the way and He will enable us to succeed.
What is God asking you to do today?
This devotion originally appeared on Devotable written by Crystal Dixon
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