REAL FAITH TAKES ACTION
SCRIPTURE: JAMES 2:26 (TPT)
”For just as a human body without the spirit is a dead corpse, so faith without the expression of good works is dead!”
Sometimes, you can see people putting in time, energy and sweat into some activities without God. Other times, you may see believers who sit down idly doing nothing, even though they have God on their side. The ideal situation, however, is to learn to keep your faith in God and work with Him. This means you learn to take action based on his Word you hear.
How do you do that? Matthew 19:26 teaches us to cooperate with God; ”With God all things are possible.” Apostle Paul captures this beautifully in II Corinthians 6:1- ”We are workers together with Him.” Clearly, we are told to work with or partner with God. As much as God wants to use you and I, we also need to depend on Him to be successful. In order to learn to work with God and see results, there are a few things to remember and a few steps we all must take.
Firstly, remember that God and His Word are one and the same. Practically, we cannot separate the two. Secondly, to cooperate with God practically means you learn to take his Word and act on it. Having some experience in your walk with God, and knowing what His Word says are not enough. You must go further and act on it.
You must determine, therefore, to be an action-oriented believer who does not act based on hearsay or public opinion but rather acts on what God’s Word has said. It is the action you take, based on God’s Word, that causes opportunities to open up to you. This explains why idle people and mere talkers don’t achieve anything significant. Look at all the people we see in the scriptures who experienced and achieved something significant.
The woman with the issue of blood heard of Jesus and came after him in Mark 5. That’s action. In Luke 5, after Peter had struggled overnight without catching any fish, Jesus comes along with an instruction. Peter responded and took action. Consider their results. It is so important for you to learn to take action constantly, especially on God’s Word. Otherwise, your opportunities will be few or none at all.
Our Lord Jesus believed he was anointed. He said this in Luke 4, verse 18 to 19, ”The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” However, He didn’t sit down. He went about preaching, teaching, healing and doing good works that blessed people with diverse needs.
That’s a good example of acting on what you believe. Faith without good works is dead. Works here means corresponding action. Without action, your faith is dead, but with corresponding action, you make progress and produce good works.
CONFESSION
I acknowledge my partnership with God as I live the Christian life. I declare my dependence on the Holy Spirit dwelling in me to be a constant doer of the Word. I let my actions correspond with my faith in all I do. I am making progress, I am going from glory to glory by the power of the Spirit of God. I am living victoriously, continually, in Jesus’s name. Amen
FURTHER READING (NKJV)
HEBREWS 11:4-8
[4]By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
[5]By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
[6]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.
[7]By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
[8]By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
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