In James 2:14-26, the first portion of the scripture focuses on how we activate our faith to serve those in need. In verses 20-26 James gives us two examples of how we must use our faith to trust God. The first person he talks about is Abraham, who was instructed to offer his son as a sacrifice. The Lord provided a ram in the bush to be sacrificed rather than his son Isaac. When we are living a life of faith the Lord does not want us to make anything more important than Him. Abraham came to realize trusting the Lord has to be our primary objective. In order to trust the Lord we have to activate our faith. Our faith is brought to completion by our works. Without works our faith has no life. It’s like telling people what you are going to do, but you never do it. Therefore, you have not given life to your words. The same is true about your faith, without works it has no life.
The other example of using our faith to trust God is Rahab the prostitute. Why would God honor the faith of a prostitute? Why not, none of us are perfect. God is looking for people that will activate their faith and put there trust in God. God is more concerned with what you are doing right now, than what you did on yesterday. What motivated Rahab to help these men, was her belief in the power of God. She heard about what God had done for them. Therefore, she put her faith in God, and activated it by her works in helping the messengers. Once the walls of Jericho fell, I believe she changed her occupation, because she was listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
These two individuals let us know what to expect when we are all in. The way we are all in is through faith in God, and activating our faith through our works. When God began to use Abraham he was seventy-five years old, and Rahab was a prostitute. These two would appear to be the least likely people that God would want to use. However, God is not caught up in age, or our prior life choices. All God wants to know, are you willing to step out on faith and move forward with works? If so, then you are letting God know I’m trusting You!
