Victorious Faith - Two Ways

“If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ (Deuteronomy 7:17–21)

Israel was like us, looking at the size of the problem and letting that control their hearts. "How can I dispossess them?" is like saying, "How can I pay my bills?" "How will I make it after the death of . . . ?" This is where we all start. But it is not where we all end. What makes the difference? What differs is how we respond to to what immediately follows:

You shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 

Remember . . . 

Deuteronomy is book about memory. Written after the 40 year wandering is over and on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, Moses preaches these sermons in order to engender a faith that enjoys God. The first truth we pick up in these verses is that present faith depends on how we view past victories. First, do we even remember them? God gave us memory in part so that we can connect our present plight to past successes. If the grace of God accomplishes much for us, of what good will it be if we negligently forget it? Second, if we remember our victories, do we make it a point to keep them ever before our eyes? Remind yourself, then remind others, and on some occasions, tell Satan. He hates God's victories. If God did it before, he will do it again. There's hope in this thought.

Admire God . . .

Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

Another reason not to fear man is that our God is 1) with us, in our midst, and He is 2) a great and awesome God. We may have reason to fear if our God were not with us. But in fact, he is! Children feel very secure in rough situations as long their parents are there, right? So, too here. And the greatest reason given for our faith goes to the character of God. Because he is "great and awesome" therefore we should find all the reason we need to trust him and not ourselves. All faithlessness is in essence an attack against the person of God and of Jesus Christ. Either he can keep us or he cannot. I think when we begin to realize this, we might be less prone to given in to anxiety in any situation. Get to know God better not just things about him. He is great and awesome!