Today, on the blog, we’re walking with the faith stories on the road to Bethlehem as we continue our Advent Journey.  If you want to start from the beginning check out last week’s blog post called, Unwrapping the gift of hope. We grab onto hope, which gives us an anchor for faith, which is awesome, but there is an important part in the process that must not be missed because the road to Bethlehem is not easy—metaphorically, I mean.

 

I love the faith stories of Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Mary and Joseph because these are stories of active waiting amid impossible situations that bordered on the ridiculous.  If you’ve grown up in the church, then none of these stories are new, but they are indeed filled with powerful principles that we need to learn to apply to the deeper issues of faith because that’s where intimacy and growth happen.

 

My absolute favorite definition of faith comes from the Bible, found in the book of Hebrews.

 

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”  Hebrews 11:1

 

Faith is the belief system we attach to the hope and the promise.  It doesn’t take much—Jesus said, even faith the size of a mustard seed—but when it’s planted in the fertile soil of trust, it roots itself in God.  And scripture tells us repeatedly how powerful God is, but in case we missed it, Jesus tells us plain and clear,

 

“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Matthew 19:26

 

Active Faith

 

Digging in and going deeper requires moving beyond the surface, asking honest questions, and a willingness to press in with the Father.  Because you see, salvation isn’t just about being saved from death, it’s about being saved for life.

 

Faith is our commitment to believe God, even when we can’t see.  The act of believing is how we agree with Him, but really, it’s so much more.  Active believing is practicing surrender and obedience in a million different little ways. It’s an intentionally specific process, which leads to the more of God.

 

I think sometimes, we can make assumptions regarding our faith.  You know, like believing in God means everything is going to be okay, or believing in God, but not believing He factors into certain areas of life. Faith is not a giant umbrella that covers everything all at once, it is a belief system that we connect to God about every. little. thing.

 

 

You and I?  We were created by God for a relationship.  Our redemption story is all about the fulfillment of that purpose.  Everything God does issues an invitation to come close and to know him, so when we respond to Him in faith, it opens the way for more.

 

Faith stories are important to us because they outline the process.  Hope inspires and fuels us, but the act of believing is what creates the space for transformation. When we choose to trust the Father, we plant our faith seed in him, which is how we give him permission to do what needs to be done.

 

 

 

 

The faith stories of Abraham and Sarah

 

God called Abraham, to leave his country and go to a new land—one God would show him. Amazingly, Abraham packed up his wife and household and hit the road.  He trusted God with nothing more than a promise of honor and blessing.

 

As they sojourned God met with them and revealed his heart along the way.  I love that it was a process of learning and leaning in.  God didn’t give Abraham the details all at once, he parceled them out allowing Abraham the space to lean in through surrender and obedience.

 

God gave them a son, long after their child-bearing years had passed, as confirmation to the covenant he had made with Abraham. Isaac would be the father of many nations, and they really loved him.

 

Here’s the thing, when you hold on to the gift too tightly, you run the risk of creating an idol and God won’t share his throne with idols.  As God watched Abraham with Isaac he became concerned and so he tested Abraham, telling him to take Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice Him.

 

Belief is more than just an opinion, it’s is an action and that’s what it means to be faithful. Practice it enough and it becomes instinctual, just like it was for Abraham, who trusted God as he took Isaac up the mountain.

 

The lesson from Abraham and Sarah’s faith stories is that faith is demonstrated by action.  Surrender and obedience are the hallmarks of belief, which always, always lead to the fulfillment of the promise. Abraham held onto the promise and trusted God to keep his word.  And in the end, because he was faithful, God spared Isaac and provided a ram for the sacrifice.

 

 

The faith stories of Elizabeth & Zechariah

 

Zechariah and Elizabeth were both descendants of Aaron in the priestly line, which is how it came to be that Zechariah was on duty serving in the temple (Luke 1).  While in the sanctuary he had a visitation from Gabriel, the angel of the Lord.

 

Gabriel told Zechariah, that he and Elizabeth would have a son, who would be great in the eyes of the Lord.  His ministry would lead many to God, with a spirit and power like Elijah.  This baby would prepare the way for the Messiah, but arrogance became a stumbling block for Zechariah, as he demanded assurance that what was said would happen.

 

That arrogance caused the angel to make him mute, which served as a confirmation that the visitation had been real. As the story goes, he went home, Elizabeth became pregnant shortly after, and they celebrated with joy because the pregnancy lifted the weight of the disgrace of barrenness.  That could have been the end of it if they had been short-sighted, but I believe Zechariah’s inability to talk gave him plenty of time to lean into what Gabriel had spoken.

 

The faith stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth are beautifully sweet because they humbled themselves before God. Zechariah shifted his heart as soon as he realized that he’d allowed pride to lead.  He went home and embraced the journey stepping into God’s plan with expectation and delight, looking forward to being a steward of God’s amazing grace.

 

The lesson here is that God can shift unbelief when we humble ourselves and trust him.

Trust is a powerful change agent, that helps connect our belief system to the promise of hope, but trust is only possible from a place of humility.  God doesn’t tolerate pride—period.

 

 

 

The faith stories of Mary and Joseph

 

Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, also visited Mary with a message from God.

 

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:30-33

 

Mary’s response was utter curiosity.

 

“But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Luke 34

 

That’s pretty darn close to what Zechariah said, except Mary made no demands for assurance.  There was no pride, no unbelief, just open curiosity as she wondered about how it could all play out. Gabriel walked her through the plan and then she agreed to it.

 

And then there’s Joseph…

Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit before she was married to Joseph.  It was embarrassing for him, and hurtful because he just didn’t understand.  The explanation she gave him was nothing short of crazy-talk. The scriptures say,

 

“Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew 1:19

 

But the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream telling him, that this was all part of God’s plan—clearly an invitation to trust and to step into something bigger than he’d ever imagined.

 

The lesson of the faith stories of Mary and Joseph is that faithfulness begets favor. God favored Mary because of her faithfulness.  Joseph was a good man, and because of that faithfulness of character, he was invited into the most epic adventure of his life.

 

Faithfulness begets favor

 

Can we just stay on this for a moment?

 

So often we look at favor as something to attain or get, like a prize or a reward.  But as I’ve been reading through these scriptures I keep hearing these words, faithfulness begets favor.

 

What that means is faithfulness births favor.

 

Do you see what I’m seeing?

 

Favor isn’t the prize it’s the product.  And you want to know what favor looks like?   Favor is when God trusts us back.

 

I was stirring the soup on the stove today, processing my thoughts with the Lord when I heard him say that.  The bigness of that statement stopped me cold, because almost immediately the enemy came back with words of shame, quickly pointing out my propensity toward faithlessness. But that revelation? It’s too good to let go of.

 

Favor is when God trust us back, allowing us to step into more.  And that’s what the faith stories of all these characters teach us.  Faithfulness leads us to the more of God, and isn’t that what we want?

 

 

 

 

 

When we press into the more of God

 

Faith is active believing, which requires surrender and obedience.  When we attach our system of belief to the word of God, it will lead us into the more of God, because belief is how we give him permission to move and work in our lives.

 

We were made for intimacy with the Father, but that relationship is offered with an invitation, never a demand.  Oh, He knows what’s best, but He never violates our choice—although it breaks His heart when we reject His love.

 

I love these faith stories because they demonstrate the way of relationship with God.  He always starts with a promise, which opens the way for an invitation, and then waits for a response. The goodness of God is astounding.

 

Faith is how we respond to God’s invitation to come close and it will always require surrender and obedience.  We get to practice faith, over and over with every encounter and moment of our lives.  This faithfulness then gives birth to favor, and then oh what joy, because when God trusts us back, we get the honor of stewarding his grace and participating in the most epic adventure of our lives.

 

I love that he isn’t put off by our unbelief or entitled attitudes that demand assurance.  He specializes in overcoming difficult obstacles to prove his faithfulness. Sometimes we are just plain stupid, but even than his grace chases us to the ends of the earth.

 

Faith is the process we walk through that produces intimacy (favor) giving us confidence and assurance that God is good and that he can be trusted