FAITH CAPSULE: Having faith is the courage to provoke God’s hand for deliverance.

Exodus 14

Romans 10:17 described faith; “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When the word of God is received, embraced, retained by the hearer, it builds man up with courage. In life, courage is to shut fear down and open up faith in the life of man. Faith is what provokes the move of God’s, hand not fear. A paralytic man and four men provoked Jesus for healing miracle. The bible recorded, “And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” (Mark 2:1-4) The faith in the life of the paralytic man and his four helpers was not hidden but was glaring to Jesus. Faith that was engaged by the paralytic man and four men was a see-able faith; it was a demonstration of strength and courage. Faith is action to provoke the hand of God for healing deliverance. Mark 2:5 recorded, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Demonstrating faith demands strength and courage. On a ground where doubt and mixed-multitude are in place, man must be strong and very courageous to observe and do according to the word of God without doubt. The faith demonstration of the paralytic man was with strength and courage and it provoked Jesus’ response, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ^“Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:11-12) Evidently, being strong and courageous in the face of undeniable challenge or overwhelming pressure will make a believer prevail. The paralytic man and his men exercised faith but the Israelites engaged fear. At the crossing of the Red Sea, the children of Israel demonstrated great fear when Pharaoh and his force drew near to them. The Bible recorded, “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:10-11)
Moses intervened on behalf of the Israelites’ deliverance before God. To be strong in the Lord is the way to overcome fear.

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God to reign over your life.