Habakkuk 2: 3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it shall not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

by Rev. Christopher Olalekan O. Alawode

The Just shall not live by Psychology, neither by Sociology nor History; and not even by Status. The Book of Bible says “The Just shall live by faith.” And the Book of Hebrews writes, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11: 1. The word ‘Just’ is interpreted by (The Free Dictionary by Farlex) as (1) “Consistent with what is morally right and righteous” (2) Honorable and fair in one’s dealings and actions.” Therefore, a Just person is a Believer who is consistent in his or her faith in Christ. Living by faith is the only way for Believers to obtain God’s promise. And God’s Promise is of two types: (1) Conditional Promise and (2) Unconditional Promise. The two kinds of promise require that a Believer must exercise his or her faith to obtain the promise from God. The difference is that an Unconditional Promise refers to what God has already made available for you. Conditional Promise requires you to fulfill your own part to obtain what is promised. In essence it means that the two kinds of Promise require that you must wait faithfully on the Lord. It is written in the Book of Hebrews 11: 6 “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.” The Bible affirms it that to obtain God’s promise one must diligently seek Him in Jeremiah 29: 11-13: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” The essence of prayer by faith should not be underestimated in obtaining the two types of God’s promise. He says in the Book of Ezekiel 36:38, “Thus says the Lord God, I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like flock”.

God’s ‘GPS’ i.e. God’s Promise System is well interpreted by Moses when he was commanded by God to anoint Joshua to take over the leadership from him. Moses took time to enlighten Joshua about God’s Promise System; he enlightened Joshua about the part that he needs to play to make the assignment easy for him and successful. He made Joshua understand that though the Lord God had promised to give the land to Israel, Joshua has his own part to play. It is why he said to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:7-8: “Be strong and be of good courage, for you must go with the people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them to inherit it.” The words “Be strong and be of good courage” means that Joshua needs to be “spiritually strong and be of good courage” means to maintain a steady belief in God; and not to doubt God’s promise. The Bible writes further in Joshua 23:5-9: “Therefore be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.” Believers need to be consistent in the reading of the Word of God, because it has no expiring date. Just as God’s Word was applicable to the old generations, so it is to all generations after generations. Here we learn that the leader needs to be strong and courageous to enable achievement of God’s promise for the children of Israel. It is an indication that though God has promised to give them the Land of Promise; the leader has his own part to play. This same Word of God is the life-wire to our present generation; useful for you and I on our journey to achieve our life’s dreams and visions.

The Bible being our life-wire is also the ‘pathfinder’ for us in our journey in life, and the more you read it and pray to seek the face of God, the more He will alleviate your misgivings and qualms. This is how you will learn to walk by faith, because your doubts will begin to disappear when you learn to follow His Word: “For we walk by faith, not by sight– 2 Corinthians 5:7. His word will help you to cope with whatever may be your challenges; either at your place of work; in your relationships; or your finances. Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” John 16:33. There is nothing that you are going through, or that you might go through in life that is strange to God; nothing which had never passed, or shall not pass through God’s table before you face it. God’s table is the ‘buck stop’. One assuring thing is that as long as you are in the Lord, His word says in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No problem has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” God didn’t promise us life free from hustling, but He promised to give us His help to be able to cope. The Bible writes, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” Jeremiah 17: 7-8.

Living by faith does not mean that you won’t feel as if nothing works some days; every man or woman has his dark days, the days when things seem not to be going our way. When it happens that way you need to activate in your mind the word of God that you hear or that you have read and it would help you to go further. The Bible writes, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testimony of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may perfect and complete” James 1: 2-3. No matter our age or achievements in life there would always be days when we would feel like giving up. The difference between the heroes and weaklings in the Bible depends on how each person activated his or her faith. The story of Ahaz the King of Judah confirms how weak every person could be; he knew how God had helped him to repel the attack by Israel, but when he heard that Ephraim had joined the alliance of the king of Syria to fight him he became a weakling. God saw his situation and sent Isaiah to tell him that the enemies will not overcome him. God declared to Ahaz that he could only be defeated if he failed to stand on faith: “If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.” God sent Prophet Isaiah to assure him of His support. The Bible writes in that the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s field, and say to him: “Take heed and be quiet; do not fear or be fainted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah ….”If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.” No matter the threat of your enemies your faith in God will make you overcome. Isaiah 7:3-9:

Elijah found himself in a situation he never believed that he could be, and he had to give a piece of his mind to God. This is what most of us do when things are not going the way we expect. Most of us also believe that we can only feel right in our spirit when we give a piece of our mind to someone that disappoints us. But sometimes it turns out that we are giving away the peace of our mind in doing so. We will feel better by giving God a piece of our mind in the way Elijah did. God is not pleased with pretence, especially in situations when we are helpless. He expects us to express our feelings, because He already knows what we are going through. We are only depriving ourselves of God’s comfort when we pretend, or we are too proud to pour our mind before God. God wants us to open up to Him; it is the way He dealt with all those who trust Him in the Bible. Read what the Bible says about Elijah; it says “Elijah was a man with feelings like ours” (James 5:17.) He panicked when he got a death threat from Jezebel; a woman well-known for her wickedness. The Bible says: “And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” – 1 Kings 19: 1-4. The devil’s strategy in times of stress and fatigue are like Siamese twins in a situation like this. God sent “a cake baked on coal, and a jar of water.” He sat down under a broom tree, and there the Lord provided the food and water he needed to keep going. He probably was not expecting that he still had a long task ahead of him. God knows what you need, and He will provide it at the right time in the right place for you. Elijah did not ask for food but God knew what he needed to keep him going – Psalm 23: 1-6.  

When the devil comes to ridicule with evil threats you should always remember what God says, ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord – Isaiah 55:8. God knows our moods, our temperament, and our decisions because our ways are open before Him – Proverbs 5:21. And this is why He assures us by declaring what He thinks toward us – Jeremiah 29:11 – 13. Waiting on the Lord is an integral part of “Living by faith”; it also means looking up to God for solution. And God’s answers to our prayers cannot be fast-forwarded either by prayer or fasting; in that case after doing both you need to wait patiently. The Bible writes about the story of how Rebecca approached her situation when she was carrying her twins in her belly for more than the expected time. The Bible writes “she went to inquire of the Lord” Genesis 25: 22-23. But Jacob felt like taking his own life when his children fooled him with the death of Joseph, his beloved son – Genesis 37: 34-35. Job in his own case preferred to have been kept in the grave by God until the time passes away – Job 14:13, but he quickly changed his mind probably when he remembered what he knew of God: “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes.” In the time of waiting, it is helpful for as a Believer to activate the word of God you know that will sustain you when you are helpless – Matthew4:4. Yours may not have a cake on the coal, it could be spiritual nourishment that will help you endure the seemingly unbearable, and you will enjoy everlasting peace. The Lord watches over every true Believer as He did when He preempted Satan’s plan to “sift Peter as wheat”  in the Book of Luke 22:31.

*Thank you for the time that you have taken to read this message. It is important that you should read this message with your Bible by your side. Please read the quoted Bible verses in your Bible to be sure that they are relevant to this message. I pray that the Lord will surprise you with an unexpected breakthrough this new month. Have a beautiful month and stay healthy.