“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them…” – Hebrews 11:13
Following faith is a five (5) step process beginning with seeing God’s promises afar off – choosing to believe that what looks impossible right now is possible with God.
But that is not enough! We must become convinced what we see is intended for us, and that comes through persuasion – an interesting combination of evidence, testimony, and choice. God doesn’t expect us to believe without evidence but he does expect us to allow ourselves to become persuaded.
That persuasion usually comes through what’s called a “witness”, or “testimony”. God provides a witness in our hearts that what we are desiring he wants to give.
Read it in Hebrews 11 – Able had the witness, Enoch got the testimony, Abraham heard the “call”, Sarah believed what she heard from God and though she laughed she became convinced!
Where does the witness come from? Ultimately from God, but sometimes by way of listening to others we respect, by reading what is written in the Bible, and by asking God to speak in our hearts.
Spend some time with godly people – those following faith. Listen to some good preaching (you don’t have to wait until Sunday), have some alone time reading the Bible and asking God to speak it into your heart.
Tell God you are willing to be persuaded!
– fritz
