Faith is an interesting principle. You never really know the effect your faith is going to have, on people around you or even on history.
The word for faith, PISTIS, doesn’t just mean faith for salvation, but it refers to the body of what is believed, or the substance of Christian faith. It’s a question of having faith and confidence in God and in His promises to us.
Here’s a great example of someone who had faith, and had an affect on history that they never could have imagined.
Hebrews 11:23-29
23 By faith Moses,
when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw
he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
This can’t refer to the faith of Moses, because he was less than 3 months old! Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, could have easily succumbed to fear in the face of Pharaoh’s death sentence. Instead, they chose to have faith, and depend on the Lord. The story is in Exodus 2, where Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby Moses and did not allow him to be killed. Then Moses’ mother got to be the nanny, and take care of him! She then had the opportunity to pass her faith to her child. But she not only taught Moses through academic instruction, but also through the example of how she lived.
How easy it would have been for Moses’ parents to
panic! But instead, they had faith in
God, and God worked the situation out better than they could have
imagined. When we decide to trust God
in difficult circumstances, God honors that decision. He works out the details perfectly, so that
the outcome benefits us and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.
Face it; only God can see tomorrow! Too often, we try to figure things out for ourselves, and make sure our lives go the way we want. We try to make circumstances and other people do things our way. But when we are determined to do it our way, God stands back and watches us make a mess of things!
The solution is simple – trust God step by step, moment by moment. Do things the way the Word of God says to do them. We don’t have to worry about the details. God will take care of everything if we just have faith, and stay out of His way!
We see the faith that Amram and Jochebed passed down to their son Moses.
24 By
faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter,
25 choosing rather to
endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures
of sin,
26
considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of
27 By
faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as
seeing Him who is unseen.
28 By
faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who
destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
Moses’ parents never knew how important their faith would be in God’s plan. They never had any idea of the impact Moses would have! But they knew that it was the right thing to have faith and trust God, and to make sure their children understood that faith.
The same is true for us today! We may not ever know all repercussions our faith can have on other people. But when we exhibit that faith and absolute confidence in God, He is free to use that faith to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.