The 40-Day Challenge : Day 6
- 28
- Jan
- 2013
“Intelligent faith forces us to think.” – Viviane Freitas
“And Zacharias said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.’ And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.’” (Luke 1:18-20)
“How shall I know this?”
This question says a lot…
Why? Because when we are caught by surprise, especially us women, we want to make plans and know the circumstances. If everything is favourable, then it’s fine! But what happens when the circumstances are not favourable?
Immediately, we ask, “How will I know this? How is it going to happen?”
When faced with that situation, Zacharias asked just like we do many times. His reaction reflected what was in his heart. And remember: he was a righteous man…
When we look around us, we start to doubt; this happens because we divert our attention from our objective and start looking at the circumstances.
“And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.”
The angel repeated his statement because he knew exactly who he was and what his mission was. There was no doubt…
Many times God uses someone to speak to us, but sometimes the person who receives the “good tidings” asks too many questions, or worries too much about the circumstances…
This is a big mistake!
In some cases, it’s sheer unbelief. In some other cases, it’s because people want to know everything in detail; they want answers to all their questions… they end up lost!
And because of this, they waste many opportunities.
It’s when we are faced with the unexpected that we show the kind of faith we have, as well as our level of confidence and obedience.
Hence the need to be in Spirit (vigilant) every day, ready to face any challenges.
“But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place.”
When we want to know everything in advance, we end up mute; that’s because anxiety makes us waste the opportunities that are given to us.
God does not need to tell us in advance everything that will happen… This is not how He works!
When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, He did not tell her in advance what was going to happen. He did not explain anything to her, and He will not explain anything to us either. Our “job” is to believe and obey!
When we have an intelligent faith, we live by what we believe! Otherwise, our faith is emotional and natural, that is, it’s based on what we see, hear and feel.
How often do you waste opportunities to show your faith, trust and obedience?
The time that Zacharias had to wait until the fulfilment of the promise was enough for transformation to happen inside of him. He examined himself… he considered what the Angel said… and he believed!
The Word of God has authority and it judges our cases according to our actions. If you do not read the Word of God and examine yourself as you read it, you will never manifest your faith, let alone your obedience.
“… which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
Things will not happen the way I want or when I want. They will happen in their own time!
Because of anxiety, many people do not rely on what is written and the promises are disregarded as coming from God. As a result, the life of many people remains unchanged!
Unbelief is a sin. It blocks the blessings of God!
Stop and examine your life. Examine your attitudes: Do you want to do things your way, or do you believe in what He promised?
Ada
6th January 2018 at 11:47
My job is to have faith and take whatever action need to be taken by me and trust God will do His part in His own time
Marilyn
3rd January 2017 at 19:45
Thank you Ms. Viviane for your powerful message and it’s true because I was so anxious I blocked any communication I had with God and was not listening to what God actually had planned for me.
Virginia Chuna
11th September 2014 at 7:08
Perfectly said. I thank God for the inspiration that He has given to you. Emotional faith brings about no results but disappointments; I say with experience. However when faith is used with intelligence, even we ourselves see more than what we want. It’s true what you said that we want to know every detail of when the blessing will come, but I’ve noticed that when we do this we show not only unbelief but we show lack of trust in God. After all His time is the best than any other as He knows everything.
Esther
1st July 2014 at 19:24
Hello Mrs Viviane. I examine myself and this line struck me “Things will not happen the way I want or when I want. They will happen in their own time!” Sometimes, i’ finding myself stuck in a season of sadness because of some circumstances. At that time, I am asking God everynight to help me get through that but when i think about it, I was supposed to get that through a long time ago it is just me who didn’t believe and listen only to my own mind. The message is an eye and heart opener to me. I will keep that line everytime I’m in a circumstances like that. Thank you for this and Godbless you and your family:)
Norma
15th August 2013 at 9:03
It is when i am faced with the unexpected that i show the kind of faith i have as well as the level of my confidence and obedience.I do not have to expect all my questions to be answered in order for me to believe i just have to obey.I also think when it comes to the things of God we do not have to reason too much because God has His own way of doing things. His thoughts are different from ours so we just have to obey.God bless you Mrs Viviane
Yetunde_R_Omoniyi
30th January 2013 at 11:02
I’ve lost many opportunities and delayed because of what I always thought/questioned.. I never allowed the man/woman of God to be used as they needed because of my doubts and this is what makes me to really wonder why my life hasn’t been the way God wants it to be. Its never because of God but because of our unbelief.