Daughter in Waiting Ministry

“Faith without works is dead.”

This scripture is often repeated in the Christian community as a means to justify stepping out in faith. And for someone like me, who has had many doors shut, I’ve wondered if this is really a ‘one-size fits all’ blanket message that can be said to any believer, at any time, during any moments of their Christian walk. So much so that I’ve wrestled with God on understanding what it means to walk by faith. What does it mean to walk by faith and wait on Him? What does it mean to walk by faith and remain in His will? What I’ve come to find out is this: we must first seek Him with all of our hearts as the greatest commandment tells us to.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Deuteronomy 6:5

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

John 15: 10

There’s a certain dance that occurs when we seek God with all of our hearts. One that is best exemplified through the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10. Jesus went into the village where the two sisters resided and entered their home. During Jesus’ visit, Martha worked hard to please Him and welcome Him into their home while Mary sat by his feet. Martha, as we often do, preoccupied herself with doing and grew upset that her sister wasn’t helping her welcome their guest into their home. But Jesus said this to Martha:

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her.”

Luke 10:41-42

Was Martha wrong for doing and trying her best to properly greet her guest, The Messiah? No. She wasn’t. The tasks she was doing were important. They just weren’t being done in the right time. When I first started having this discussion about works with God, He always pointed me towards scripture regarding waiting on Him, reading His word, standing still, etc. I learned that our entire Christian walk will always call us to be Mary. At times, we’ll be both Mary and Martha. But we are never to just be Martha. All of us are in different seasons in our walk of faith and during certain seasons, we’ll only have discernment on who God is calling us to be when we first seek Him. In my instance, I needed to be still for a bit in my surrendering so I could grow to truly understand God’s character, His word, and my purpose for His kingdom. Only now has He started to truly nudge me to move by faith. Faith without works is dead…God cannot grow our faith if we are not first strengthened by His word. Now, we can move on to what it means to be Martha. To my belief, there are two types of works by faith. One type follows a calling and the other type is led by boldness. 

The type that follows calling is the act of faith that comes from being called by God to do something. It’s a work of obedience. My first example of this is Abraham. As James 2 says, Abraham’s faith was justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar. He acted out his faith by obeying what God called him to do. What God spoke of him to do. Abraham knew God’s character and knew that this was simply a test and even stated that God himself would provide the lamb for the burnt offering for this sacrifice in Genesis 22. Abraham was certain of God’s character and because of this certainty, he could act in obedience. Would Abraham have had such great faith if he hadn’t spent intimate time with God learning about His character? I don’t believe so. Another example of being called to do something is in 2 Samuel 2 when David inquired of the Lord whether or not he should go up to Judah. God said go so David went. He acted out in obedience to God calling him to go. My questions to you are these: What has God called you to do? Even the calling(s) that don’t make sense. Are you doing it? If not, what is keeping you from doing it? It doesn’t have to be tied to your specific purpose. It can be moving somewhere or forgiving someone because He’s called you personally or in His word. For myself, what keeps me from acting out in faith or obeying God’s word always boils down to a lack of trust or a lack of understanding of His character. Do I trust that God is holy and always has my best interest at heart and that His plans for me are greater? We must ask ourselves these questions when God calls us to do something and we are reluctant to do it. In my circumstances, God has always equipped me with what I need to act if He’s called me to do something. So if there’s a lack of work after I’m called to do something, I always know it’s a result of a lack of trust in His character on my part. Which highlights pockets of unbelief that I have towards Him that I can actively pray for Him to help me with. 

The other type of work is one I’ll call ‘boldness’ for this blog. It’s an act of faith that is initiated by a certainty and trust in God’s word. That He’s with us everywhere we go.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

This is the one I struggle with because I have a fear of failing. And because I’ve been shielded and protected so much in this wilderness, I’m afraid that if I ‘step out’ into the world again, I won’t be able to handle it. I’ve loved that God previously called me to work by writing and I enjoyed obeying and working out that call. Now, I feel him nudging me to boldly step out in faith without being specially called to. I’ve been Mary for a couple of months now and Martha only for my writing. I’m afraid to now be both Mary and Martha in the world. I’m afraid to walk out the promises of God in my life and I have to persistently pray against that fear. 

This type of work requires risk. It won’t always pan to a result or be seemingly successful. We can find ourselves outside of God’s will if we’re not careful. The good news is that if we abide by His word and acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He will guide our steps. We can trust that if we do fall outside of His will when we take these bold acts of faith, He will redirect us. This boldness is 50/50. There was a 50 percent chance that Boaz wouldn’t have taken kindly to Ruth’s advances when she went down to the threshing floor following Naomi’s counsel in Ruth 3. Yet, she was within God’s will and this resulted in not only her marrying Boaz but finding herself in the genealogy of Christ. I can’t imagine Ruth even considered that her act of faith would have led to God using her in such an extraordinary way. Not only did her act of faith bless her, it also blessed Naomi. It blessed us. There was a 50 percent chance that King Saul’s son, Jonathan, would have lost the battle against the Philistines. But, his act of faith of going with his armor-bearer to lead the fight against the Philistines led to Israel’s victory. Working out our faith in this manner, like Ruth and Jonathan, says that maybe the Lord will support the steps of faith we take so we take them boldly. And we trust that as long as we continue to seek Him, He will continue to guide our steps. And as we do these works of faith, we must always remember one thing:

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Here are a few more scriptures to meditate on as we contemplate what walking out our faith looks like for each of us:

“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 11:37-38

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”

James 2:14

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

1 John 5:14

Additional passages that helped me understand what faith without works means to me:
Psalm 37
Luke 19: 11-27: The Parable of the Ten Minas
Hebrews 11: By Faith
James 2: 14-26: Faith Without Works Is Dead
Ruth 3

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post! Feel free to share examples of your acts of faith that have yielded results and the ones that haven’t or were outside of God’s will for your life. How did you know and how did He redirect your steps?

Sincerely,

Anne