Walking by Faith to the Goal

Big Point: Faith in forward motion opens the door to God’s blessings and work in your life. 

Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted on by an unbalanced force. For example, consider that you’ll fly...
forward off a skateboard when it hits a rock. The same could be said of our faith—something out of our control can momentarily send us flying; but more importantly, we’ll also stay where we are, not growing or moving forward, unless we intentionally set it in motion. It’s the principle of starting out to then experiencing blessing, not waiting for the blessing and then stepping out. Having the faith to start walking, even when we cannot see or understand, and especially when we have fear about the walk, is trusting Jesus to open the door to God’s blessings and work in our life.

One place this is so clearly demonstrated is in Luke 17 when ten men with leprosy approach Jesus and ask to be healed. Instead of immediately granting their wish, Jesus sends the ten men to see the priests. The men would have been very confused by this, since 1) they all still had the physical signs of leprosy. At that time, no one knew what caused skin diseases or how they were spread, so lepers were outcast to live outside city walls, and 2) in addition, it was after healing that the priests would have fulfilled the 3-part process of cleansing as dictated by Old Testament law. But, it was only after they began walking that they were healed.

READ IT… What does the Bible say?

Luke 17:11-19 (New Living Translation)

¹¹ As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. ¹² As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, ¹³ crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. ¹⁵ One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” ¹⁶ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Question: What did Jesus tell the lepers to do? Then what did just one of them do?

Answer:

BELIEVE IT… What is the lesson for me?

Which of these actions do you think Jesus is calling you to right now? A) start walking, B) come back and give thanks, C) both. 

LIVE IT… What will I do now?

Where are you finding it difficult to start walking right now, to step out in faith? 

What “unbalanced force” do you need to apply to be open to the blessing God has for you? Once you do, how can you ensure you’ll come back and thank Him, too?

 PRAY… Ask God to help you either start walking, stop and give thanks or both, even if you don’t understand, or can’t see, the blessings He has in store for you