My family and I are currently entering our tenth week of quarantine because of the Coronavirus with at least two more weeks to go before our state’s stay-at-home order expires. This quarantine has not been easy. For some reason my house is never clean despite the fact that I am always home, I have had less time to spend in the Word of God despite the fact that I am always home, and over the last two months I have felt a heaviness in my heart from the impact of this virus. However, I know that God has been working in me and in my home regardless of the way things look on the outside. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn’t change, His Word doesn’t change, and neither do His promises to His children. One of the lessons I am learning in this season is that the difference between victory and defeat in times of uncertainty is simply a matter of standing firm in my faith.
There are many examples in the Bible of those who stood firm in their faith and saw a victory as a result. Many of the kings of Israel and Judah overcame impossible odds because they stood firm in their belief in God’s promises. However, just as many, if not more, were defeated because they did not put their faith in the word God gave to them. One such example was King Ahaz of Judah. Ahaz became king of Judah when he was twenty years old. King Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord. He worshipped false gods and took part in practices that were detestable to the Lord. At one point in Ahaz’s reign he was besieged by Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah, but these two forces were not able to conquer him (II Kings 16:5). However, Ahaz had a fearful heart when it came to Aram and his heart as well as the hearts of his people trembled before the nation (Isaiah 7:2). But God had a word about this situation for Ahaz and He spoke this word through His prophet Isaiah. Through Isaiah, God said to Ahaz, “…Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly” (Isaiah 7:4 HCSB). God proceeded to tell Ahaz that He was aware of the harm that Aram and Israel intended against Judah, but in response to this harm God said to Ahaz, “It will not happen; It will not occur…” (Isaiah 7:7). There was, however, one caveat to this declaration being fulfilled. God told Ahaz, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). God told Ahaz that he would see victory over the evil plans of Aram and Israel, but in order for this to be fulfilled Ahaz first had to stand firm in his faith. God gave Ahaz a choice. If he chose to believe God’s word then success would be the result, but Ahaz had to make that choice. Ahaz made his choice and the consequences of that result can be found in II Chronicles 28. Instead of turning to God and putting faith in God’s promise of deliverance, Ahaz turned his back on God and turned instead to the King of Assyria and to Assyria’s gods for deliverance. This decision had monumental consequences; II Chronicles 28:23 says that this decision was the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
Ahaz was given a promise from God through the prophet Isaiah, but Ahaz didn’t have faith in God’s word and chose instead to place his faith in man and in man-made idols. As a result, God’s word was not able to come to pass. Now let’s compare Ahaz’s response to God’s declaration to a familiar figure who had to make a similar choice. The virgin Mary was visited by an angel who gave her a message from God. The angel Gabriel told Mary that she would immaculately conceive a child that would be the Son of God. Mary, like Ahaz, had two choices: she could either have faith in the word that was delivered to her by the angel or not. Mary chose to believe the word delivered to her which led to monumental consequences for our entire world. In Luke 1:45, Elizabeth (The mother of John the Baptist) said to Mary, “She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled” (emphasis mine). In this verse Elizabeth clearly states that Mary was blessed because she believed in what was spoken to her by the Lord and through that faith the Lord would be able to fulfill His promise. Mary first believed in God’s word and then God’s word was fulfilled in her life.
Seeing God’s Word fulfilled in our lives seems to be a simple matter of standing firm in our faith. If we choose to believe, like Mary, victory will be ours as we see God’s declarations fulfilled in our lives. However, if we choose to turn to the world, like Ahaz, we will see defeat in the areas where we were hoping for victory. Right now we are in the midst of a difficult season, but we have a choice each day to believe in God and in His promises. We have a choice to stand firm in our faith and believe God’s Word over what the world is telling us. Only one of these choices will bring us into the fullness of life that God has for us. What is your choice today?
The Truth in Action: The Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on our nation, but God’s Word tells us that by Jesus’ stripes we have been healed. We have been healed through Jesus’ finished work, it’s already done, but in order for the Lord to fulfill this promise we have to stand firm in our faith and believe the promise. If the body of Christ can come together in agreement we will see a victory across our nation! Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus is the only way for us to stand firm in our faith.
Further Study: Mary was given a word from God, she believed and had faith in that word, and through her faith it was fulfilled. Read Luke 1:46-56 and meditate on Mary’s words of praise to God. This is a powerful example for us all. Mary not only believed in God’s word, but she put her faith into action by praising Him for what he had done even though it was not yet completely fulfilled. Mary was praising God as if His word had already been fulfilled. That is faith! Start praising God today as if everything you have asked Him for has already been fulfilled.