By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Faith, with the results it brings, is no respecter of persons. Anyone and everyone can repose faith in God, their background notwithstanding. Peter, by the Holy Spirit, in Acts 10:34-35 said, “of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” In Hebrews 11:31, we get the example of Rahab, the harlot. She was a resident of the city of Jericho, the city God’s people were to attack. She wasn’t with God’s people when they crossed the Red Sea. She wasn’t there when they were at Sinai and yet she heard of God and all He did for Israel. She had heard of God and knew how powerful God was and she was afraid of what was about to happen to her city. She didn’t just think these were old wives’ tales. She really believed it enough to be afraid of the awesome greatness of the God of Israel. She had faith that all she had heard would happen because she believed God was that powerful (Joshua 2:8-14). The others in the city had also undoubtedly heard about these things as well but didn’t believe them enough to take steps towards their own salvation. That was the difference between Rahab and the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho.
Listen, you must learn to exercise enough faith in God to really believe and live like God is going to do what He said He will do. It is one thing to say you believe God is going to do it but it is another thing to actually live like God is going to do it. The key to believing the Word and living like God is going to perform it unto you is simple faith in Him – a childlike faith in God which acts on the Word; faith that takes God at His Word in swift, warm, complete obedience to His Word. Just like the inhabitants of Jericho, hearing a lesson on faith is not enough. We must apply it and live in a way that is consistent with what we have heard. Active and potent faith always does more than just hearing the Word; it is an acting faith. It acts on the Word as quickly as the opportunity presents itself. That’s the faith that works wonders.
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
In the Name of Jesus Christ, I declare that I am a doer of the Word. My faith is childlike and quick to respond to God’s Word positively and completely. My faith is working, and I have awesome testimonies to share with people to stimulate and encourage their faith in God. Amen.
Further Meditation: Joshua 2:8-14; James 2:17-24.