Faith to Believe

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).” Rewarder, G3406 misthapodotēs: remunerator, implied wage earner, pa, repay. Diligently seeking, G1567 ekzeteo: to search out, investigate, crave, demand, worship, inquire, require, seek after. Reading in Hebrews 11 about faith has truly caused me to stop and attempt to understand how it is that God can be pleased by man. What have the great men of the Word done to turn the head of God? The answer really is quite simple. They believed fervently to the point of utter and complete sacrifice of themselves and sometimes all they loved. Noah builds a boat in a land where rain has never fallen. He built it exactly how he was told, facing ridicule no doubt every moment of every day. Abraham takes his only son to a mountain, completely willing to offer him as a sacrifice, and if that wasn’t enough, he packs his family up and leaves everything he knows behind to obey God. Moses goes before the most powerful man in the world with a stick and makes demands of him. He, by obedience, brings down what was at that time the greatest power in the world and leads the people of God into a desert and freedom. David, as a 13-year-old ruddy kid, takes on a fierce warring giant with a rock and a sling and becomes a king! Job loses everything he has, suffers tremendous physical affliction, mental torment, and who knows what else, all because he believed, and yet God gave him double what he had ever had. These and countless other faithful men of the Bible diligently sought after the Lord, and the Lord was faithful to reward them. Is there, can there be, any doubt that God is faithful to do what He promises and more? Is there a secret to this kind of faith, a pathway to understanding God? Most assuredly I believe there is: it is to be one who diligently, without fail, searches out, seeks after, inquires of, and worships the God of all creation. When we seek Him, we will find Him, and He who we find is a faithful God. He is not asking everyone to step out of the boat or take on nations, but He is requiring of all to believe—to believe in that which we cannot see and trust beyond what we feel. He is asking all men to have faith, simple faith, faith to believe that He exists; that is the key. If we seek Him, we will find Him, and when we find Him, we find one who is a rewarder of those who “diligently seek Him.” You see, all who believe receive the reward of eternal life in heaven, and that is just for starts. The evidence proves that not only will we receive heavenly rewards, but we will receive earthly rewards as well. Not a bad deal! As a matter of fact, I can think of no better deal in all of time: belief in the God who made you and all you survey. He will give you more than you can imagine! Can someone please explain to me why this is such a difficult sell? Now, before you all begin sending me reasons, I was being facetious. I do understand what the one thing truly is: surrender! You see, many who believe there is a God will not surrender to His lordship. Why? They lack faith. They have the belief that there is a God, but they lack the faith to trust Him and truly believe He exists or they too could surrender. Therefore, no matter how you cook it, how you look at it, how you sell it, it all comes down to one thing—it takes faith to believe and please God. Pastor Gene Burroughs, Missio Dei Ministries, Navarre, FL