1st John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
This passage of scripture teaches us the sacred truth, that it is only a living faith in God and a vital connection to Jesus Christ that will guarantee the victory over sin, the world, and its man-made systems in our personal lives. There is no such thing as being victorious without Christ, and therefore its important that at every step of the way in our Christian experience, we exercise faith in God. The faith the Bible is referring to is not only restricted to overcoming hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, but it also covers the entire spectrum of our earthly existence.
This kind of faith will be especially necessary both now and in the near future, when we will come up to a period in earth's history when there will be no man-made cures for the plethora of new diseases and pestilences that would be coming upon the face of the earth. The deteriorating conditions that would obtain as we draw nearer to earth's final crisis has been written in the scriptures for centuries, and we are just beginning to see the intensification of that which was prophesied by the prophets and also by Christ Himself. Let's read:
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
God's supernatural power is usually reserved for man's extremity, and after we have done all we can to stave off or control the pestilences here spoken of, and have failed miserably, when no God-ordained cures can be found, and we are at a loss to come up with solutions, then it is that God's omnipotent power will be displayed in behalf of those who have made it a habit to exercise faith in God. But it is necessary that at the time mentioned in Matthew chapter 24, we be found without fault, and blameless before God so that no cherished sin will hinder the exercise of His power in our behalf.
When the children of Israel were bitten by poisonous serpents, and no known cures were to be found anywhere, God directed Moses to erect a brazen serpent on a pole, so that whosoever looked on it would be miraculously healed. Their faith in this instance would therefore be exercised by looking at the uplifted serpent, and not by trying to help God with the cure. Similarly, in our day we are going to be exposed to ever increasing viruses and superbugs, and during these times, when the man-made systems of medicine are failing, we will find it more and more necessary to look to Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to walk by faith and not by sight, because in reality it takes time to get to know God, and our trust and confidence in Him is built up over a period of time, not suddenly through a one time experience, as many people believe. Let's read:
Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!