{"id":5865,"date":"2017-01-06T01:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T04:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noeliafernandez.net\/2017-01-06-en\/"},"modified":"2017-01-06T01:02:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T04:02:00","slug":"2017-01-06-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noeliafernandez.net\/en\/2017-01-06-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Exhortation: Guard Your Faith as Your Most Precious Treasure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

Translation from Spanish<\/a><\/p>\n\n

During my walk with Jesus, I\u2019ve faced many tests of faith. Some have been light, others truly difficult, when you have to keep moving forward almost blindly, step by step, without knowing what lies ahead. It\u2019s as if the Lord takes you by the hand and leads you down a path where you have no idea where you\u2019re going.<\/p>\n\n

This is normal and necessary, and usually a good sign, because the Lord will test our faith. It\u2019s easy to show God that we trust Him when everything is going well, but He will bring us to a point where He tests our faith, placing us in situations that don\u2019t seem good in our own eyes.<\/p>\n

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[1 Peter 1:7<\/a>] that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

As we walk this path where God asks us to move forward blindly, without fully understanding the process, He teaches us what faith really is and what it means to walk by faith.<\/p>\n\n

Faith is knowing that something exists or will come to be, even if we can\u2019t see it yet. Walking by faith means walking in the Spirit, not by sight. It\u2019s not about seeing what\u2019s ahead, but trusting what God has promised us in the Spirit, which is invisible. That\u2019s what faith is.<\/p>\n\n

There will be moments\u2014and I\u2019m living through this myself\u2014when God will ask you to take a huge step, and He won\u2019t give you many details.<\/p>\n\n

He might say, \u201cYou need to do this task,\u201d or \u201cYou have to go to this place,\u201d and you\u2019ll find yourself thinking, \u201cBut how, Lord? Where? When? What will happen? How will I make it? What will we do? How will this work out? What\u2019s the purpose?\u201d And God\u2019s reply will be, \u201cJust trust Me and obey Me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These big tests of faith are common and necessary, and they will come up again and again throughout a Christian\u2019s life, at different levels. God will test us in many ways to see if we truly trust Him. He will test us to see if we really listen and obey, even when we can\u2019t see beyond the first step He\u2019s asking us to take, because He leads us gradually, step by step, when He calls us to something big.<\/p>\n\n

He might say, \u201cYou have to go to this place,\u201d and you\u2019ll wonder, \u201cHow will I work? What will I do? Where will the resources come from? For what purpose? What\u2019s my calling there?\u201d And He will answer, \u201cThe first step is to go. I want to see if you will respond to what I\u2019m calling you to do first, and then I will tell you what\u2019s next. But you have to take My hand in blind faith and wait for Me to guide you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

God doesn\u2019t hand you the manual with all the instructions at once; He gives it to you page by page. You have to read the first page and do what it says before you can move on to the next. God will only give you the instructions for the second step once you\u2019ve trusted Him with the first.<\/p>\n\n

For many Christians, the longer they\u2019ve followed Jesus, the harder it becomes to walk by faith. I\u2019ve seen many born-again believers reach a point where they get stuck.<\/p>\n\n

God calls them to do something important they\u2019re not confident about, or something out of the ordinary that takes them out of their comfort zone, or to give something up\u2014and then it\u2019s hard for them to take that step of faith. They tell themselves, \u201cI\u2019m already saved, I pray every day, I read the Bible, I\u2019m active with God, and that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

But Jesus says in the Bible, \u201cMy Father and I are working until now.\u201d God is dynamic and diverse. He loves variety and change, and He\u2019s always at work.<\/p>\n\n

If you stay in the same place, doing the same thing for a long time, there will come a moment when God will pull you out of that comfort, because it\u2019s the only way to grow. I\u2019ve seen that many find it hard to take that leap of faith, especially after following Jesus for many years.<\/p>\n\n

When they see someone take that leap of faith, someone who responds to God without having anything secure, they usually say, \u201cYou should look for something more secure. Maybe what you heard isn\u2019t from God. Why don\u2019t you do something else in the meantime? Why not make a transition while God confirms if what you heard was really from Him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

And that person replies, \u201cI clearly heard God ask me to do this. I\u2019ve already asked Him, I\u2019ve already sought confirmation, I\u2019ve prayed, I\u2019ve fasted, and I keep getting the same answer. In my heart and mind, I know this is what He\u2019s asking me to do, even if it sounds like the craziest thing in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Some believers have a hard time hearing this, because it stirs something inside them that\u2019s been stuck. A person of great faith has a huge influence on someone whose faith has been stagnant and stuck at a certain level.<\/p>\n\n

The Bible tells us there are different measures of faith, and that we must ask for more faith. So, if we need to ask for more faith, that means not everyone has the same measure.<\/p>\n\n

Lately, I\u2019ve experienced this myself and had to say, \u201cI\u2019m doing this because I know God is asking me to. I am sure, and I will wait patiently until He fulfills His promise. I will pray, I will fast, and I won\u2019t take another path, because He is telling me to go to the right, not to the left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Fear plays a strong role in these situations, always trying to tear down faith\u2014both mine and everyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n

Some believers get really unsettled by this kind of bold faith that says, \u201cI don\u2019t care what happens. I will do what He tells me, even if I have no guarantees, even if I don\u2019t have the whole manual, even if I have no idea what I\u2019m doing. If He asks me to do something, I will do it, because I have faith and I trust Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

There are brothers who insist, \u201cBut maybe you should do something else. Why don\u2019t you go to the left until He fulfills what He promised on the right?\u201d And I feel that some aren\u2019t even doing it on purpose.<\/p>\n\n

But that is not faith. If I go to the left, thinking God will fulfill what He promised on the right, He won\u2019t do it, because I\u2019m investing my time and energy elsewhere, moving away from His will. He will see that I don\u2019t truly have the faith to wait for what He promised or to do what He asked, whether it\u2019s small or great.<\/p>\n\n

In these moments, it feels like these people are stealing your faith, even if that\u2019s not their intention. When I went through this recently, I thought and meditated and finally said, \u201cNo, I won\u2019t let them steal my faith, because faith is more precious than gold. Faith is the greatest thing a Christian can have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

We have an obligation to work every day so that our faith grows. If I let the fear and frustration of others affect my faith, I won\u2019t do my Father\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n

In these moments, it feels as if these people are vampires trying to suck your blood. So you have to make a decision and say, \u201cThank you for your help. I really appreciate that you want to help me and that you care about me, but I have full faith that what God is telling me, He will fulfill, because He is powerful and everything He says comes to pass. And if I\u2019m sure what I heard came from Him\u2014because I\u2019ve been praying about it for a long time, I\u2019ve even fasted, and the answer is the same and keeps growing stronger\u2014then I will do that, and I won\u2019t go somewhere else just to pass the time while what God told me comes to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. In someone who truly follows Jesus, every verse comes alive. But for someone who reads the Bible and doesn\u2019t live it, nothing happens. It\u2019s as if the Word is dead to him.<\/p>\n\n

When you truly follow Jesus, He is your Shepherd, and He says to you, \u201cI am calling you to walk this way, My sheep. You belong to My flock, and I am your Shepherd. No one else is your shepherd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

God will test your faith, because that\u2019s the only way faith can grow. If you ask the Lord for more faith, as I do every day, He will say, \u201cI will give you more faith, but you must show Me that you are worthy of more faith,\u201d and most likely, He will place you in difficult situations where you will have to prove just how much faith your vessel can hold.<\/p>\n\n

You will face many trials. God may say to you, \u201cDo this task for Me,\u201d and He tests you to see if you are able, and those tests always go beyond what you think you can handle.<\/p>\n\n

God may say, \u201cI will take you a little further\u2014beyond the limits of your mind, beyond what you believe you can achieve.\u201d Then you might respond, \u201cBut I\u2019ve never done that. I\u2019ve never been there, and I don\u2019t know how, Lord.\u201d At first, you protest: \u201cHow do You expect me to do it? I don\u2019t feel capable.\u201d But God doesn\u2019t want you to do it on your own; He wants to do it through you, by your faith. Still, you must be worthy.<\/p>\n\n

God will place you in situations like these, and you will find yourself walking a path full of obstacles and stones. Sometimes those stones are not just circumstances or things, but people around you, and sometimes even brothers. It\u2019s up to you what you do with those stones, what you do with those faith vampires who want to drag you down and steal the most precious thing you have.<\/p>\n\n

As for me, I say to the Lord, \u201cNo, Lord, this is mine; it\u2019s the most precious thing I have. No one will touch it, and no one will take it from me. No matter what happens, I will trust in You, I will wait on You, and I will not take any other path than the one You have given me, because You are holy and mighty, because You are omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, Lord. Who could possibly know what is best for me if not You?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

That is the message I wanted to leave with you today. You must defend your faith. You must be persistent and absolutely convinced, because we are called to wait for what we do not yet see. God tells us, \u201cI have this prepared for you,\u201d and though it has not yet happened, in the Spirit the order has already gone forth, and all that remains is for it to manifest in the natural. But what brings it into reality is your faith.<\/p>\n\n

Lord, give us all strength so we can trust in You. Give us more faith. We need a great faith, Lord. We long to please You with a good measure of faith, Lord. If we are worthy, equip us with the shield of faith, because we know that through faith we can win battles, we can defend ourselves from every dart of the evil one, and we can survive every situation and every trial.<\/p>\n\n

Faith is everything to us, Lord. Give us more. Give us that precious treasure, Lord. We long for it and we desire it. In the name of Jesus, Lord, I ask You to increase the faith of my brothers who are listening, and that together we may learn to defend the most precious thing we have, which is worth more than gold.<\/p>\n\n

Thank You, Lord, for everything. Thank You for these great tests. Thank You for these great commissions You entrust to us, Lord, because when You give us something great to accomplish, it means You are working in us. But when everything is still and nothing moves for a long time, that\u2019s when we must begin to ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Am I doing something wrong, Lord? Because nothing is moving. I feel stuck, sitting, bored, as if I already know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Lord, I thank You for leading us down unimaginable paths, for expanding the borders of our minds and teaching us spiritual things, so that we are fully equipped. I know we are Your children and that You won\u2019t leave us without perfecting us to the end, Lord. Your Word says we are perfected to the end, and we want to be as much like Jesus as possible, Lord.<\/p>\n\n

Thank You for teaching me throughout my life and allowing me to share all of this with others for their edification. Thank You, Lord, in the name of Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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