The Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years died there, never entering the Promised Land because they didn’t believe God’s promise that they could take the land. In fact, at times, they even wanted to go back to their old, familiar ways in Egypt, where they had been slaves
(Hebrews 4:2).
The message they heard didn’t benefit them because it wasn’t united with faith.
This is a type—an Old Testament model—of salvation and the desires that draw us back into temptation and sin. Faith activates God’s promises. It’s like plugging appliances into an electrical outlet.
Faith is the connection point. Faith plugs us into the powerful, life-changing promises in the Word of God. Think of electricity: electricity flows through wires into your home unnoticed unless it is touched or interrupted. We plug into electrical outlets to tap into the power. In those wires, we have light switches that connect with the power.
We have cords on our computers and all the appliances and power tools in our homes. Unless they’re plugged in, our appliances and tools are nothing more than lifeless objects. They just sit there, powerless, unable to fulfill their purpose. But once we plug them into a power source, everything changes.
A refrigerator hums to life, preserving our food and keeping it fresh for days. A washing machine begins to spin, removing hours of manual labor from our daily chores. A lamp brightens a dark room, allowing us to read, study, or gather with loved ones late into the night. And a laptop powers on, instantly connecting us to colleagues, friends, and family across the world.
Electricity transforms ordinary objects into extraordinary tools and opens endless possibilities in our lives.
1 Peter 1:23 says we are born again by the seed of the Word of God planted in our hearts: “For you’ve been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.”
Hebrews 4:2 warns us that without faith, God’s promises of salvation and eternal life won’t benefit us. The seed of salvation—the promise—may have been told to us when we were children, but it’s only when we believe, when we have faith to reach out and grab hold of it, that it becomes ours.
That’s when the power of God flows into us and through us. Like a lifeless appliance disconnected from its power source, we’re lifeless until we’re connected to our power source.
2 Peter 1:4 tells us that our power source is the promises that enable us to share God’s divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.