From the Trenches
Dear Friends,
I can feel it…March is upon us and spring is in the air! Some of you may think I’m being a little premature, but I see the sun shining and I can hear the birds singing, and to me those are telltale signs of greater things to come!
Faithful saints, last month we talked about the most important commandment – love. This month, Almighty God has been reminding me about the importance of another of the three things He said now abide – FAITH. And this faith is not of itself, but it produces within us righteousness. Romans 4, one of the well-known “faith chapters”, reminds us in verse 4 that, “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” What does God view as righteousness? Who are those that God deems righteous? Not the ones who perform great works, get everything perfect, or always do everything right, but those who have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but for me it is a comfort to be reminded that my performance does not determine my righteousness! It is unwavering faith in Jesus that will set me apart from the world and identify me as a righteous woman of God – not leaning on my own understanding, but trusting in the LORD with all my heart and acknowledging him in all my ways, knowing he will make my paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). Friends, it’s not our performance that Almighty God is looking at – it’s our trust. It’s not what we can do, rather it’s what we admit we can’t do but declare that our God can do! His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). If we try just to boost our performance in order to build our faith, we will fail. BUT, if we build ourselves up in faith (Jude 1:20), our performance – our actions – will automatically line up to reflect that!
So how do we build our faith? Scripture tells us clearly where faith originates, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) It’s so vital to not only discipline ourselves to spend time reading and meditating on His word, but we have to activate the word that is already within us. Many of us have been believers for years and have been more than filled with the word of God. But when those situations come that threaten to steal our peace or displace our joy, we have to choose to pull out that word that’s in us and declare it and stand on it. We must always have our weapon, the sword of the Spirit, at hand! It takes effort on our part but, if we don’t do it, we may not make it home from the battle! Our faith, built on the word of God, is our only defense against the schemes of the evil one whose mission is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). We can’t let our faith fail us!
So, dear intercessors in the trench, let’s remember this month to keep the main thing the main thing. Let’s not focus on how much we can do or how much harder we need to work – we’ll only end up weary, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel…and we still won’t be any more righteous! Instead, let’s just focus on the most important thing – putting our faith in Christ. As our faith grows, everything else will follow. As we know the word of God and live it out in our lives, we will be convinced of His character, ability and PROMISE to make all things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Remember, it is our faith that makes us righteous, and God credits this to our heavenly account (Romans 4:3)! It is the righteous whom He listens to and on whose behalf He acts (James 5:16; 1 Peter 3:12). In the words of Andre Crouch, “Through it all, Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God; Through it all, Through it all, I've learned to depend upon His word.”
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)
Righteous By Faith,
Karen Warankie
News Director, CIP
