When I read yesterdays daily devotion by Martha Kilpatrick my heart was pricked. And throughout the day I was continually reminded of the message. In tomorrow’s post I will share my response to these nudges of the Spirit but today I wish to bless you with the devotion that inspired my reflections. I hope it encourages you as much as it did me as you will hear in tomorrows post.
John
For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come.
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.
Hebrews 10:37-38 NKJV
Some 25 years ago, I was just reading along in my Bible when I came to that verse: The just shall live by faith. Suddenly it exploded and I saw what it meant. Everything, literally EVERYTHING is solved by faith. Faith is the access to every need, the solution to every problem. Just faith, only faith is our need.
I saw that faith was so simple and sure that all our feverish worry, fretting, and trying seemed ludicrous. And I began to laugh at the simplicity of it, the ease and certainty that faith was the way to live. I laughed and laughed. I laughed at humanity because the way to live was this single issue, this one need and I could see clearly that all is provided in God, freely given. And we make all of life so complex and impossible. We believe it is so!
For days I laughed with joy at the wonder of this glorious total solution: faith. I tried to explain it to another believer. She looked at me with a blank expression and I knew she didn’t see it. It was so simple, so clear and I could not stop laughing with the most outlandish joy.
The Righteous One
Of course, it faded. And for some years I had to go through trials to become the ‘just’ who COULD live by faith. It was not that I was becoming more and more ‘good’ – rather that I was going lower and lower, seeing my utter wretchedness. In time, through God’s great forgiveness, I began to have faith that I was righteous – righteous as a gift IN and FROM Christ. And all the scriptures that referred to the righteous applied to me! So long as I was IN Christ, I ‘wore’ and enjoyed HIS character in place of my complete deficit. All that time, without my seeing it, the Lord was making it possible for me to become the ‘righteous’ so that I could ‘live by faith.’
When you have nothing in yourself, then you have ALL in Christ and His faith is infused into you as an unearned gift and becomes your solution to everything.
Yet a little while, and the Coming One will come and will not delay; but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
Hebrews 10:37-38 ESV
* If you’re unaware of Martha’s daily devotional, I highly recommend them to you for your encouragement. For years they have been blessing those hungry and searching for edification. If you would like to receive them in your inbox, you can subscribe for there free daily delivery. Click here and start tomorrow.
I have enjoyed Martha’s daily devotions, and like many, my heart was especially touched by yesterday’s message. ” The Righteous shall live by faith” or ” He who lives by faith is Righteous” And what is Righteousness, but only this ” I ALWAYS do those things that please the Father” and ” Here comes satan, and he has nothing in Me”. And what is Faith ( the one that can save my soul) , only the one demonstrated at the cross, when it seemed that not only earth, but also heaven was against Him. But nonetheless His last words were… Read more »
I can just picture a child dancing and singing totally free and completely dependent and secure in the knowledge she is loved
Ditto. After reading the devotional yesterday, I sought the Lord for a greater understanding of faith. I went to http://www.ReadMK.com and found “Faith Is” in the Articles section. The second part, “Faith Is In A Tree” brought great conviction, repentance, and confession. Thank you Lord for giving me ears to hear and thank You for speaking to me through your children at Shulamite. I choose to listen.
Oh… this is SO beatiful and true. The child He has called us to is seen all along (the wrap up picture is so exact)
Bless you!
Indeed, that’s also what came to me when I read this devotional yesterday: To live by faith is the life of a child…
Oh John and Martha, I too was so touched by her devotion of FAITH and the Coming ONE…..the description of her going lower and lower, seeing her utter wretchedness , that in time through forgiveness, she began to have the faith that she was righteous ……the joy that comes through this writing is contagious and the desire that this unearned gift can be mine….OH LORD I choose not to shrink back ever again.
Me too.
xxx