Page 6 - The Divine Quest

The Divine Quest Page 3

Faith and Love

Understanding the message of this chapter is essential to comprehending why faith
is so very important to God, bringing great honor to Him, and why a failure of faith
is so grievous, serving as a reproach to Yahweh. Most of my life I did not understand
the things shared here, and I cannot ever remember a sermon or teaching on this
matter. It is something that the Holy Spirit has brought understanding in as I have
been led through multiple trials of faith.

The foundation of faith is having a genuine trust in God’s love for us. The
absence of faith is similarly based upon a distrust, or unbelief, in God’s
love for us.

Understanding the words above is critical in order to comprehend this matter of
faith. Most sermons on faith that I have heard have centered upon God’s power and
ability to rescue and deliver. There are myriads of examples throughout Scripture to
draw upon to exposit Yahweh’s great power. Yet, I am convinced that most failures
of faith are not due to unbelief in God’s great power. Most failures of faith are the
result of not trusting in God’s love and kind intention toward man.

When one considers this, they can perceive that this makes a failure of faith an even
greater reproach to God. When a man or woman believes God can deliver them from
some trial, or preserve them through it, when they have little doubt about His power
and ability to save, but they do doubt His willingness to save them, this brings a
tremendous reproach upon God. Throughout this book we will look at many
examples of this type of failure, and we will see how Yahweh was dishonored as men
doubted His love for them.

Consider for instance the children of Israel who were delivered from the bondage of
Egypt. They had witnessed the awesome power of God in the miraculous plagues and
judgments that were brought against the gods of Egypt. They had seen the Nile
turned to blood. They had seen frogs cover the land, as well as lice and locusts and
other insects. They had witnessed the hail and lightning, and had seen Yahweh make
a distinction between the Egyptians and the children of Israel, for the land of Goshen
where the Israelites dwelt was right in the midst of Egypt, yet it was spared from the
plagues.

They had seen the darkness that covered the land for three days, a darkness so thick
that it could be felt, and no one in Egypt moved while under the darkness. They had
witnessed the boils that tormented the Egyptians, breaking out everywhere upon