But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.
Acts 23:11-13
The account above is the norm for the believer, not the exception. No sooner has God promised to get Paul safely from Jerusalem to Rome than he finds out 40 men are plotting to kill him! Don’t be surprised, dear Christian, by resistance to the promises God has made to you. Expect it! God didn’t give us faith for it to be dormant. He expects us to use it, therefore it must be tried. In fact, Peter writes that this trying of our faith is necessary so that it “may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. So, “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you”. (1Pe 1:7, 4:12)
It’s important to note how Paul reacted when he learned of this plot. He didn’t respond to his nephew (who told him of the planned assassination), “Don’t worry about it! God’s promised to get me safely to Rome so everything will be okay.” He did what any normal human being would do. He instructed him to go tell the police! (Or, in this case, the Roman soldiers in Act 23:17) Now, some would condemn Paul for such an action, claiming he was weak in believing God’s promise. But, trusting in the promises of God doesn’t mean we throw reason and logic out the door nor does it mean we will have nothing to do with the fulfillment of those promises.
The account of Noah reveals much concerning the natural means the Lord uses to bring His promises to pass. In Gen 6:17-18, God exposed his plan to destroy every living thing but promised to preserve Noah and his family; however, the fulfillment of this promise would require tremendous human effort on Noah’s part! For years (scholars believe it took 50-75 years), Noah and his sons would labor to build a boat of such magnitude that it would be the late 1800’s before an ocean-going vessel of that size was constructed again! In addition to actually building the ark, they had to see that all the animals had enclosures appropriate for their unique requirements as well as collect enough food to sustain the animals and themselves for the year-long journey. (v. 19-21)
Noah’s faith in God’s promise didn’t prompt inactivity. It called him to action! And so, per Heb 11:7, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Remember, inactive faith is dead faith. (Jam 2:26) May the certainty of the promises of God encourage us to labor fervently, knowing that nothing and no one can prevent them from coming to pass! “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise”. (Heb 10:36)
Jamie