Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Wednesday May 27 2026
More Bible Studies Available @ www.marktabata.com. To Receive
Free Bible Studies And Updates Via Email, Contact Mark Tabata @ 606-216-1757 (SMS Only) or markatabata@gmail.com (Email). Follow me on Substack: substack.com/@marktabata. Also please visit my author page: amazon.com/author/marktabata
Isaiah 55:8-11-For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.b 10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
It is hard sometimes when we do not fully understand God and His ways.
On the one hand, faith is a solid conviction based on the evidence that we know is incontrovertible. Thats’s why the Bible tells us:
Hebrews 11:1-Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Writing of this passage, Missler has well noted that there is a strong emphasis here to the solidness of our faith.
True faith is substance. It is evidence. The word “substance” in Hebrews 11 is ὑπόστασις hypostasis and it means “confidence” or “assurance.” It has the connotation of a foundation or substructure, something stable and unmoving on which things can be built. It is substance that gives real existence. The word hypostasis was used in ancient title deeds as a guarantee of ownership. It refers to the real essence, the real content. Faith is the essence of a future reality, despite the appearances of the physical world around us….As a scientific term, hypostasis is antithetical to lack of knowledge. Hypostasis is the substance , the reality. It’s something proven. It’s the evidence of things not seen. The word ἔλεγχος elegchos is a legal term for evidence that is accepted for conviction. It’s what makes us certain about something. In 2 Timothy 3:16 it is translated “reproof,” but it is the information that leads to our being convinced, that gives us conviction. The person of faith lives out his belief based on what his mind and spirit are convinced is true…The writer of Hebrews tells us that our faith is not merely a hope or a fiat system of currency. Our faith is not a dream or wish or fantasy. It’s reality. Our faith is substance. (Dr. Chuck Missler, Beyond Perception: The Evidence Of Things Not Seen, 55-80 (Kindle Edition); Coeur d’Alene, ID; Koinonia House).
On the other hand, there is a sense in which faith goes well beyond intellectual knowledge. True faith goes beyond knowledge to obedience. It becomes a matter of will. We are told about Abraham:
Hebrews 11:8-By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Abraham’s faith started on the solid conviction that God is trustworthy and had spoken. He did not wait for full understanding: he knew what God said to do, and he did it!
Now remember, God didn’t make everything clear all at once to Abraham. This faithful man had no understanding where he was going to wind up, but he took the first step that God made clear!
And then….
God made the next step clear.
One step at a time, Abraham followed the Lord.
That’s how it is sometimes in life, isn’t it?
We don’t see the full picture, so we take the one step in front of us that God’s Word illumines, and then the next one that He reveals, etc.
So step by step, we walk with Him.
And each step, we learn to trust Him more.
Again, look at Abraham.
James 2:21-24-Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Years ago, brother Homer Hailey powerfully described this intersection of faith, reason, and will.
The function of reason per se is not to determine whether the fact was possible or impossible. Reason cannot determine whether one could begotten in the womb of a woman unimpregnated by the male sperm, or whether a dead body could be raised to life again. Rather, its function is to weigh the evidence that claims to sustain the facts. Reason must sit in judgment on the evidence and determine it valid or invalid, trustworthy or untrustworthy, strong or weak. When it has done this and has deduced a conclusion on the weight of the evidence, it has served its purpose. Will must then take over (Homer Hailey, That You May Believe, 19; Las Vegas, Nevada; Nevada Publications).
What step in your walk with God do you need to take today?
Do you need to repent and be baptized to have your sins washed away (Acts 2:38; 22:16)?
Have you drifted away from Christ and the church and maybe need to recommit yourself to Him and your family in the Lord (1 John 1:9; James 5:16)?
Do you need to put in some special effort and work on your marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33)?
Perhaps it is time to take another look at your work schedule and find a better balance between employment and time with family (Philippians 4:5)?
Maybe God is calling you to make amends with someone you have wronged or offended (Matthew 5:23-24)?
Are you ready and willing to step into that next step of ministry in your church family to which God is calling you (teaching, song-leading, preaching, volunteering in any way, etc.)?
Wherever God’s Word is calling you: will you have the faith that follows where He leads?
Lord, convict us. Guide us. Help us to take up our cross, and to follow where You lead. Amen.