It is amazing what happens when we get to new heights in our understanding of faith: knowing what it really means to the extent of our experience of the Father.  How we act after that is the actual activation of the power of faith.  I have found that outside of the basic requirement for believing for salvation, believing is not enough for the moving of ‘mountains’.  In fact, when we learn of the promise(s) of Father Yahweh, whether through His word, a song or through one of our dreams, or a word from someone who could only have heard from the Father – when we hear the word, it is the beginning of faith.  The scripture says faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word about Yahshua Messiah. (Romans 10:17NIV).  Many people have heard the Word.   For us who believe what we hear, the best thing to do is to accept it as Truth, because if we come away feeling incredulous, and walk in a state of incredulity, thinking “Really?!! That could happen? That was great for those people who got the word back then.”  Or so ‘wowed’ that it is hard for us to accept that such a promise will actually come true for us; then we don’t actually believe, do we? We have really just heard and we are kind of trusting that it is true on some level, not able to receive it as a promise to us.

This would be the polar opposite of the faith of Abraham – the Father of Faith – and our best example of a life of faith every time.  He heard, he believed and he acted.  The promise came and as it was in the beginning, the word became flesh, that is, it became physical.  His faith in the word of Yahweh made Abraham act, and the miracle of dead flesh coming to life to produce Isaac was the awesome result.   Abraham had such faith that He could understand the promise of a generation in his only son.  That is big, because if he were like us, all we would see is the son, the fact that he is one, and how can we call the one son a great nation?!!  It is almost laughable to think about it; but I believe this is one criteria of great faith: You will sound more than a little crazy to rational people.

Faith’s activation begins the moment we act.  Father makes the promise – gives us a guarantee, our job is to claim that promise and walk like we own it.  If he promises me a home, then I need to start feeling like a homeowner long before I receive the down payment or the keys for that matter.  In fact, we should start looking at potential homes, and pray he guides us to the one He promised.  Truth is, He is not going to move the house to us; we are going to have to move out to move in.  Start looking.

All we have is a promise and knowledge of the Father that sustains that promise.  That helps us see the potential for greatness:  it helps us envision our small business as a huge multinational, because that is the promise and the vision the Father gave you.  It is why you are willing to believe in it, even when it looks like it will go down and out of business.  You say, well if He gave me one he can give me another and as a matter of fact, I am willing to sacrifice the one if that is what He asks, because He is true to His word and that is what I am standing on.

From Genesis 11, Sarai is said to “not be able to have children”.  So what was Abraham (then Abram) thinking when he heard the promise?  The promise began straight off the bat in Chapter 12 with “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you…”  Did Abraham fully understand the promise in the beginning? Did he truly start walking – packing up his family and his accomplishments and move out of Haran, because he grasped what it meant to become a great nation?  He must have had a truly impressive encounter with Father Yahweh, causing him to move.  Maybe it was the type some people have in their prayer time and they “touch heaven” and receive such an impressive blessing that you barely want to interact with the outside world for a while.  You just want to enjoy the feeling of having had a momentous time with the Father and He has shown you some things that you cannot even talk about or explain; you can only cry and sing worship songs and praise – just to keep the warmth that is purifying you on the inside.

The scripture does not elaborate on the setting of the encounter or even Abraham’s reaction, except that he responds by moving, but I have stopped taking the events in the bible as if it is the full extent of what happened, because if I do that I will lose the significance of time passing and the individuals whole being processing and possessing the promise.  I am sure Abraham was looking forward to experiencing the fullness of the blessing promised by Father Yahweh.  And while he probably had some idea of what that would entail for him, spiritually and naturally, could he fathom being made into a great nation? Did he have his own theories on how Father Yahweh would do it?  Perhaps he thought, “He is going to take me to a nation and make me the ruler, he is going to make me into a great leader in the nations and that nation is going to be blessed”.  Could he possibly know (in his spirit) that many thousands of years later, he is talked about as being the Father of a nation? Maybe he did.  Maybe that is why the promise continues to be fulfilled even to this day.

To partake of this promise requires faith: to accept the gift of salvation, to walk as child of the King and to live a life that is worthy of the Father who made the promise.  Still there are depths and heights of faith not yet accessed by us, faith that requires activation through our words and actions.  I am ready to experience Faith like that and I realize that it means I must have a deeper knowledge of Him.  It means relationship, living in His presence and a constant walk and friendship.  Abraham was His friend.  I want to experience what that means.

For more devotionals, see Sufficient For Today by Sharon Haughton on Amazon.com, Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

Photo credit: http://www.Pixabay.com

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