Victory to Those Who Exercise Faith

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
–Hebrews 11:30

If you want to break down the wall that is blocking you from your new beginning, it will take faith. God grants victory to those who exercise faith.

Hebrews 11:30 says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” God promised the Israelites that He would grant them victory over Jericho, and His people acted accordingly. They moved forward in obedience, believing that God would do what He had promised to do. That’s what it means to exercise faith. And notice that it didn’t matter how much faith the Israelites had; what mattered was the object of their faith.

Several years ago, I was on an eventful plane ride from Austin to Dallas. It should have been a thirty-two-minute flight, but because of thunderstorms, we were in the air for five hours. The turbulence was so strong that the plane was going up and down. It was interesting to watch the reactions of the other passengers. Some people were serene, reading their magazines or playing on their phones; they had all the faith in the world that we were going to make it through that storm. Others were crying out in fear; they had very little faith that we were going to make it. Then the pilot made an announcement: “I know the storm we’re going through seems terrifying, but we are riding in the safest commercial airplane.” He was saying it didn’t matter how much or how little faith we had; we were in a secure airplane, and because of that, we were going to make it through the storm.

In the same way, the exercise of our faith doesn’t depend on how much or how little faith we have; it depends on the object of our faith. And there is no surer object of our faith than God and His revealed Word.

What if you’re in a difficult situation about which God has not spoken directly? Here is what exercising faith means for you: It means pouring out your heart before a loving and compassionate God, telling Him what you want, but then trusting Him to do what is best in your life. God grants victory to those who exercise faith.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The God of the Impossible,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2013.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.