By Faith

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; [note shift] and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground (Hebrews 11:29-38).

I desire to have the kind of faith that Abraham, and Moses, and David and Gideon, and Samuel all had. Amazing things happened to them because of their faith in God. I pray that someday I will have faith as strong and confident as theirs. However it is important to remember that faith does not have to be big for it to be beneficial or for it to cause great things to happen. As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 17:19-20, For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. The key is to have faith. Even the disciples were reminded of their little faith at times, but praise the Lord that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17. So whenever I feel that my faith needs to be strengthened I am reminded to spend some much needed time in the Word. Glory to God!