In the late 80’s and early 90’s a well-known slogan for Nike Sneakers was used to almost triple their sales for sneakers. It was, “JUST DO IT!”.In other words, don’t just think about it or talk about it.
When it comes to the things of God many people live in the place of “let’s think about this and see if it really makes sense! If you are waiting for things to make sense you are missing the point of what Faith is!
Now you may be thinking, “Are you talking about blind-faith”? The answer to that question is a resounding NO! As Christians, our faith is not in religion, but in a relationship with Jesus. There is a difference between blindly believing and believing in someone you know. That, in essence, the difference between religion and relationship, in religion you know about Jesus; in a relationship you get to know Jesus on a personal level. It’s easy to have faith in someone who has already demonstrated love for you. Jesus demonstrated His love by giving His life for yours, granting you eternal life, and empowering you to overcoming sin. The key to it all is Faith.
There is no better definition of faith than that found in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. The things hoped for in this statement are the things that God has promised in the Bible. You have a right to hope for what has been promised. The evidence of things not seen simply means that God is at work in the spiritual realm to bring to reality what you cannot see, yet. Remember we are called to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). That is why trying to intellectually reach God won’t work.
As Christians Faith is the only key to pleasing God because Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. If you will please God by faith He will bless you abundantly!
Our faith must be in Jesus and His calling and direction for our lives. As we follow Him we become more like Him. Obviously, our faith begins with the assurance that we are saved or born-again. Then it follows that we must have faith in His plan for our life. As I’ve said in the past, “faith is impossible unless the will of God is known” therefore as God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit we must, by faith, obey even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. We must Just Do It!
Romans 12:3 says that we have all been given a measure or portion of faith. You might believe that your faith is too little, listen to what Jesus said to His apostles when they complained of having too little faith, “And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6). The mustard seed is one of the smallest of seeds and yet like the mustard seed the smallest amount of faith will be able to release miracles in your life, as you obey the Lord.
Of course, the difficulty with faith is that you must learn to put your trust in someone else, Jesus, when all your life you have trusted in yourself, other people, your job, the government or your possessions. The problem is very much like the young person applying for a job and being told that they don’t have experience. Well, how are they to get experience unless they are given the job and do it? How can your faith grow if you trust in everything else but the Lord? The only way that spiritual faith can grow is to begin to put your trust in God and see Him come through in the small things. God’s faithfulness then becomes a springboard for greater steps of faith. In other words, start with “baby steps”. Keep in mind, whatever believe you hear from God must not contradict his word, the Bible!
Finally, if you want things to change in your life… do something different! Release your faith in Him!
JUST DO IT!
DO IT FOR JESUS!
