Title: Persevering Faith
Contents
▒▒ Bible _ Psalm 130:1~8
A few years ago, a man named Aaron Bernal was found dead at the Astoria Hotel in New York. Aaron Bernal was an executive at an IT company. But I am 26 years old. So, becoming an executive at 26 is a so-called super-fast promotion. How fast would this person run to sit on that high seat at 26? He worked harder while taking the drug, and he died of a heart attack while trying to work more. Running fast requires sacrifice, and few people really think about it. Without even thinking about making any sacrifices to get a little bit faster, we live our lives without realizing that we are still working very hard to get a little faster.
Faith can be said to be patience and waiting. We call Abraham the father of faith. Abraham was called at the age of 75 and received two promises. However, the promise of a child 25 years later, the promise of the land is fulfilled almost 600, 700 years after Abraham's death. That is why Hebrews 11:13 says, “All these men died of faith, but they did not receive all that was promised, but they looked and rejoiced from afar.” That is, people of faith rejoiced to see what was accomplished right in front of my eyes, but they rejoiced and rejoiced as they looked forward to seeing what would be realized in the next generation, though it was not immediately realized. Faith that waits, faith that perseveres.
It is very important that we wait, and that we wait is not vaguely waiting. This time of waiting is also what we are waiting for as we become like the glorious Jesus Christ. Humility arises when we wait patiently. A gentle heart arises. It is the fact that we become pure and holy when we live in waiting, just as a bride is pure and holy when she waits for the groom. That is why faith in waiting is so important.
The first thing we must wait for is character. Jacob met God in Ruth when he was 20 years old. However, Jacob went to his maternal uncle Laban's house and stayed there for 20 years, and Jacob's personality did not change. He stole his maternal uncle's sheep and goats as if he took away his brother's right for a bowl of red bean soup If you meet God, you must change, but it took a long time. It can be seen that Jacob's character has matured into the character of God and that of Jesus Christ over the years, but it can be seen that it has changed over a long period of time, not a short time. Dear brothers and sisters, even if you are not satisfied with our character right now, I hope you will be patient and wait patiently while continuing to look to the Lord, believing that God is making our character holy.
The second is prayer. If you pray, I hope you will answer it right away. But God is not. Rebekah married at the age of 40, but did not have a child until she was 60. Therefore, it took 20 years for Isaac to pray with Rebekah before receiving the answer. Sometimes God hears our prayers right away, but we need to remember that usually God directs our prayers to keep us praying for a long time.
The third important thing is our sense of vocation. The Bible says that we are like fragile earthenware. Even if we become weak and sometimes feel like giving up, we must obey God's commands to the end and persevere. That is our faith. Hebrews 12:2 “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He went forward, enduring the sufferings of the cross, for the joy that was set before him.” Jesus was patient too. Jesus persevered by taking up the cross just like us. The perseverance spoken of in the Bible speaks of persevering while carrying the cross in the middle of the field. This is the right faith of waiting.
2007-11-09 21:49:25