#MeditationMonday – Out of the abundance of a man’s heart, his mouth speaks.

“Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”

— Hebrew 10:38 (NKJV)

Surely we hear this all the time, but what does it truly mean to live by faith?

For me, it’s simply having no Plan B. Your plan A is God and whatever His will is for your life, and that’s the only plan you’ve got.

Let me break it down.

You see, the world encourages us never to put our eggs in one basket. When filling out application forms, I am always asked for my first, second, third and fourth choice! We always hope that our first choice works out, but in case it doesn’t we have a few other options lined up that we can fall back on. Better still, when it comes to our laptops, Ipads and phones we are even less trusting – we make backups of our information daily and weekly because we know that these devices are prone to fault.

Rationally, this is obviously what every person should do, we should create panic rooms and fail safes but as christians when it comes to having faith in Christ, we must remember God is our first and only choice. On the application form “where will you spend eternity”, we must choose the kingdom of heaven as the only option! Having a second option leaves room for doubt, once you have something else as a fall back option, you’re no longer putting all your trust in the first option. Making another plan is saying that plan one is prone to fault and this is blasphemous and insulting to our God because Yahweh Jireh is faultless, flawless and blameless!

This is what it truly means to live by faith. In the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11, we see that every name mentioned really had no back up plan other than God.

I want to focus particularly on Joseph, who is fondly called The King Of Dreams. He isn’t someone who is often remembered for faith, it’s usually father Abraham but I put it to you that as Abraham was sacrificing Isaac, He probably took comfort in the fact that Ishmael was out there somewhere.  However, Joseph really really had no back up plan. I read the story of Joseph everytime searching for some little compromise or something he could have held on to that gave him hope other than God, but there was nothing else. Several times my brain concocts methods by which he could have escaped his misery but each time He chose God’s plan over and over!

The reason why Potiphar’s wife could not easily get Joseph was because He had not considered her as a backup plan in His heart! Even when he may have hoped that the butler would go on to mention him to the King so he would be freed from prison, God made the butler forget so that Joseph’s faith would not be in man but in God almighty.

Those who are just live by faith, and when we create other options apart from God, he no longer delights in us, He draws back from our lives and takes no pleasure in any of our activities. This is why without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who live by faith please God in all that they do! This is why we must regain our childlike faith to enter the kingdom of God, children are so trusting because they often make no backup plans. If you promise a child Ice-cream, they have to trust you will get it for them because on their own they have no resources to get it for themselves!

When we make backup plans in our heart, especially plans that are of the world and can cause us to sin, we give room for the devil to tempt us with these plans in hard and trying times! What we are really saying is, If God won’t do it for me, I’ll just have to do it for myself and that’s really dangerous living! 

Are you truly living by faith? or do you have backup plans in case God’s will for you isn’t looking so forthcoming anymore. Have you secretly decided that if mission and ministry work doesn’t bring you what you desire you will return back to your degree or the job position awaiting you in your father’s company? or return back to the arms of that loved one that God pulled you away from?

What is it you keep in your heart as a backup plan? Get rid of it before it unseats God’s position in your life today. The world says: Don’t put your eggs in one basket, to that I add, unless that basket is God. If so, then by all means, lay your eggs there!

Grace & Peace!