July 7

Hebrews 4:2 (NIV84)
2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

The Gospel or any promise in the Word of God has to be combined with faith! In fact even the specific words that God puts in our hearts for us have to be combined with faith. Faith is trusting that the word will happen! It was of “no value” means that it did not bring a benefit to them because those who heard it didn’t “combine”, or fit it together/couple it with faith. This is saying that the promises of God will not benefit us if we don’t trust the promise to be true!

If you don’t trust your brakes to work in your car, you will probably never get in the car because you don’t think the brakes will stop you. You will walk instead of drive because you don’t trust the brakes to work, so the benefit of the car as a means of transportation to you is null. It is like there is no car! Although this illustration brakes down (pardon the pun) at some point, you get what I am saying. Unless you believe that the brakes will work, the gift of transportation of the car is useless. Unless we take the promise of God and combine it with faith (trust), it WILL NOT benefit us! It is time for the people of God to apprehend all that God has for us, and we do that through counting Him worthy who has given us these great and precious promises to fulfill them. We don’t fulfill them, God does, and often times miraculously and right in the nick of time. Only believe!