“We need to put feet to our faith.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 26, 2023
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6
In his book Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, author Mark Batterson tells an inspiring story about a group of Mississippi farmers who gathered fifty years ago to pray for rain.
When a drought threatened to destroy a season of crops, a rural church with many farmers in the congregation called for an emergency prayer meeting. Dozens of farmers showed up to pray.
Most of them wore their traditional overalls, but one of them wore waders. He got a few funny looks, just like Noah did when he was building the ark, but isn’t that faith at its finest? If we genuinely believe God is going to answer our prayer for rain, isn’t that exactly what we would wear? Why not dress for a miracle? I love the simple, childlike faith of that old, seasoned farmer.
He simply said, “I don’t want to walk home wet.” And he didn’t.
But everyone else did.
When we pray but don’t act, we may be saying that we believe in God, but we are acting like He doesn’t exist.
Batterson also writes:
“We can pray until our knees are numb, but if our praying isn’t accompanied by acting, then we won’t get anywhere. We need to put feet to our faith. After kneeling down, then we need to stand up and step out in faith.”
When Queen Esther received the call to rescue her people from annihilation, she fasted along with her maids and the Jews in Sushan for three days and three nights (Esther 4:16). Then she stood up and stepped out in faith with a plan to save her people. She did something. She didn’t get caught in “analysis paralysis” or worry too much about messing up so that she didn’t act. Instead, with boldness she trusted God with the outcome when she approached the king: “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther “put on her waders.”
When Nehemiah felt the call to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he didn’t sit around and wait for God to strike him with lightning to make him move. Instead, he fasted and prayed before the God of heaven (Nehemiah 1:4). Then he stood up and went to work with confidence that God would accomplish the task (Nehemiah 4:14). Nehemiah “put on his waders.”
There have been times in my life when I have “put on my waders” and God has performed a miracle just like He did for the Mississippi farmers. There have been other times when I have done the same and things didn’t work out how I hoped. In fact, there have been times when I thought God was leading me to “put on my waders” but I was wrong. I was amiss about what He wanted to accomplish.
But I don’t want these experiences to stop me from living a life of faith. I would rather be wrong about what God wants to do and act in faith, than not act out of fear and unbelief. My prayer is this: “Lord, please let my life be characterized by the belief that you can do anything. And because I believe this, let me act in faith! Let me always ‘put on my waders!’”
Will you pray and “put on your waders too?”
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).
Prayer
Lord, give me the courage to be like Nehemiah, Esther, and the farmers who “put on their waders.” I will act in faith knowing that you will guide me as I listen to you. Nothing is impossible with you. Amen.
Application
Do you need to step out and act in faith?
Related Reading
2 Samuel 10:12; Joshua 1:9; Deuteronomy 1:21
Worship Resource
Corey Voss: God Who Moves the Mountains
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