By Comparison

 Continuing a Series on “Living by Faith”
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
1 Samuel 12:1-11; Hebrews 11:32-34

[Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Each person is commended for living “by faith”. Following these commendations we read, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, continue to live “by faith”.]

We live in a world that thrives on comparison. It starts at an early age. Mothers compare
their babies. Students compare their grades. Employees compare their paycheck, or the possessions bought with it. Throughout our lives, the message is clear; compare yourself to others to see how you stack up. It’s human nature.

 

Samuel grew up in a relatively good home. His parents observed all the religious traditions of Israel. In fact, his Mother Hannah, dedicated him to the Lord. As a result, he served as a priest, a prophet and a judge.

 

As a priest, he served in the Tabernacle with Eli. As a prophet, the Lord spoke to him when He wasn’t speaking to anyone else. As a judge, Samuel led Israel against the Philistines, and back to the Lord.

 

Samuel was even spoken of in the same breath as Moses. It doesn’t get any better than that. Unless you consider the fact that he is also mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a Hero of the Faith. By all accounts, Samuel was a very impressive guy. All of Israel could not lodge a complaint against him.

 

³ Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, accuse me now in the presence of the Lord and the king he has chosen. Have I taken anybody's cow or anybody's donkey? Have I cheated or oppressed anyone? Have I accepted a bribe from anyone? If I have done any of these things, I will pay back what I have taken.” ⁴ The people answered, “No, you have not cheated us or oppressed us; you have not taken anything from anyone.”         NLT

 

If I compare myself to Samuel, I’m not him… but I am Joe. And the Lord created me with unique gifts, desires and experiences that perfectly fit His plan for my life. This is confirmed to me, when I read the words of David in Psalm 139.

 

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful, I know that full well.     NIV

 

Samuel was not perfect, but he did trust the Lord throughout his life. We can take heart from this and follow his example. And in the same way that the Lord was faithful to Samuel, He is faithful to you, and to me.

 

Therefore, let us live by faith… not by comparison.

 

 

The Eleventh Hour

 

A Series on Living by Faith
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 22:1-19; Hebrews 11:17-19

 [Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Even though they never saw what they had been promised, each person is commended for living “by faith”. At the end of these commendations, Hebrews 12 tells us, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, live “by faith”.]

  

Life is full of tests. The important question about tests though, is not whether you pass or fail, but how do you handle them.

 

My wife taught school for twenty-three years, and we always depended on her job for our health insurance. When she decided to retire though, there was a deadline of September 30 when the health insurance would run out.

 

She spent the whole summer looking for a job without success. Finally, at the eleventh hour, when panic was beginning to set in, she got a job that would start on October 1. And, unlike most jobs, the health insurance kicked in immediately.

 

Abraham had a lifetime of tests, to many of which, he did not respond well. But, there seemed to be no end to God’s faithfulness as time and again He would reiterate the promise of descendants. However, most of us will never face the final test that Abraham did.

 

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”            NIV

 

On that mountain, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son. He stacked the wood, bound Isaac on top of it, took the knife in his hand and raised it to kill him.  It was literally at the eleventh hour when the Lord provided another sacrifice.

 

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”         NIV

 

Besides health insurance, the Lord has provided a wife and daughter who have stood beside me during my darkest hours; a church family who supported us when we had our still born; financial support for my twenty-five year career in faith ministry; a retirement portfolio when I never had a 401-k.

 

What is your mountain? Tests, trials, adversity… we all have them. It’s a part of living. But the Lord will provide even when you are in the middle of a seemingly hopeless situation. And like Abraham, we are to live by faith, and trust in the faithfulness of the Lord and His promises.