Yes, I want to live like that

Hebrews 11 is full of faith stories that are inspiring.  Their faith has made a big difference in my life.  The awesome stories recorded in the faith "hall of fame", remind us of who God is and motivates me to know and seek Him more.

How could we not be moved by a God who parts the waters of a raging sea, leads a nation out of slavery to a land that He promised, and knocked down walls with a single horn blast and killed a giant with a single stone?

How could we not want to be a follower of a great and mighty God like that?  Verse by verse miracles are told.  Every story has a common denominator though...each story told of simple faith that God prospered.

Each story tells of prospered faith.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1  Faith is not about evidence.  "This is what the ancients were commended for." Hebrews 11:2  The "ancients" referring to the faith greats like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, David, Joseph, Moses & Gideon just to name a few.  The big hitters in this faith business who were merely obedient to the directions of God.

Their hearts responded in obedience, with a "yes, God."

Their strong faith lead them to places where God met them and showed them the way.  They had faith in God and believed God for who He was.  In faith and by their obedience, they experienced God in ways that are still making a difference in our lives today.  Their faith outlasted their lives and has definitely impacted my faith.

We trust the Bible to record the accurate faithfulness of God.  After all God wrote those faith stories on their hearts to move ours to faith.  With every story, there was a need to believe God for who He was and what He was telling his children to do. A decision was made to believe God over their circumstances.  They believed God for something impossible.  God prospered their faith by providing His answer in the midst of their circumstances.  

What I love about faith is that God makes it so easy to just believe.  All we need to do is take a look back at His faithfulness to propel us to act forward in faith.  Or rather it should seem easy right?  We have to fully trust God to journey these days of faith.  We have to believe God for who He says He is.

We have to trust God to prosper our faith.

If it were so easy, then why does God ask us to do hard things?  I think it's because He gives us a chance to believe Him for what only He can do.   He wants to shape our faith into a story that will impact our lives but also outlast our lives for the next generation.

Have you ever thought about how your test of today will be tomorrow's testimony?  If we didn't have trials and temptations why would we need God?  We would be able to survive, but not thrive.  God has plans to prosper us.  The awesome part of His prospering is that it will take a lot of desert moments of meeting God one on one, waiting upon Him to act on our behalf as we seek Him on the behalf of ourselves, our families, our communities, our  nation, the church, believers everywhere and so that we can be encouraged in our faith.

Prospering means growing, bloom, bear fruit, thrive, bear, benefit or yield.  How else will we learn faith if we don't experience faith in a way that is earned?  It means that it won't always be easy, comfortable or convenient but it will always be worth it.

Obedience and devotion to God are always worth the faith it takes to prosper God's way.  

When the world tells you it doesn't make sense, we choose to follow God anyway.  We choose to live by faith like our faith fathers who's faith outlasted their lives from one generation to another to lead others to a life of following God.

Absolute faith in a God you know always has your best interest at heart.

Faith is God's best life to choose.  No matter what, say yes, "I want to live like that".  Let us run the race like Paul who was a warrior for Christ from the pit of dark despair.  He wrote his faith in such a way that still inspires me today.

Paul's outlasting faith still inspires me.  Yes, God, I'm all in.  Prosper our faith so that it outlasts our days, so that Your glory lives on and on.

Yes, I want to live like that when my soul fades, and when the memory of me would only point to God.  Yes, that I was love where there was none, and that my worship was more that just a song.  Yes, I that gave it all that I had, and I was known by my obedience to God who so gracefully gave it to me.  That I am totally sold out and fully surrendered, recklessly abandoned and never holding back to His prospering of the faith.  Yes, I want to live like that.

To see an inspiring message about this subject watch this:  Outlasters.