Faith That Pleases God, Part Two

YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT GOD REWARDS THOSE WHO DELIGENTLY SEEK HIM (Hebres 11:6)

Most people have been raised to not believe in a positive outcome concerning anything, and actually, taught to believe in a negative outcome. It's a safety mechanism that says, "Don't get your hopes up, so if it doesn't work out, you won't be disappointed."

There's no logic in that because you will be disappointed anyway. Now, it's normal to feel disappointment. It's what you do with the feelings of disappointment that's important, but that's another subject.

Beleiving in a positive outcome is vital to our success. If we could only believe that God has our best interest in mind and simply trust that everything will work out, we would see great results. Life would change in ways we'd never thought possible. But, most people just can't believe things will work out for them. They look at past results and judge their future based on their past.
s a fact that the best predictor of future behavior, is past behavior. The good news is, that your behavior is a choice. Your past does not have to equal your future! Just change your expectations and have faith.
James 2:20 tells us that faith without works is dead, which means "faith" is an action word. The word "faith" in Webster's Dictionary is also translated as "belief." So, believing is an action. And, it really doesn't take any more effort to believe, than to not believe. It's just an attitude.

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."

The Bible is clear; what you believe is what you get. Jesus said in to the man who needed healing in Matthew 9:29, According to your faith, let it be done unto you. Faith is important. The just – the righteous – those made righteous by Jesus, shall live by faith it says in Romans 1:17, quoting Habakkuk 2:4. We need to live, we need to walk by faith.
Jesus didn't say we would see the manifestation of our prayers immediately. We must keep believing and not waver, "For a man who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord" (James 1:6-7).

Expectation is the key to receiving from God when you pray! If you are not going to expect God to act, then don't pray at all. It's ineffective and displeases Him when you don't believe. Remember, Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God."

God will do His part when we pray, but our part is simply to believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him – and we must seek Him daily!/
The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.

Luther said: The true, living faith, which the Holy Spirit instills into the heart, simply cannot be idle. It must be used! A little faith in God will take your soul heaven, but great faith in God will bring the power of heaven to earth!

That is the kind of faith that pleases God.  Charles Wesley put it this way:

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
And looks to God alone;
Laughs at impossibilities, A
nd cries it shall be done.!