PRESUMPTION: THE MOTHER OF ALL MISTAKES

Esther 4v12:

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

*Capitalisation for emphasis

Like Esther, we cannot presume that God will save us from the COMING STORM just because we are in the KING'S HOUSE. SAVING FAITH (the kind for salvation AND for being KEPT in this present life) must have substance, and it must be of the highest quality (that is why it's tested by fire), just as Noah's working out of faith evidenced itself in just how well he built the Ark.

In the years leading up to the flood, if Noah's faith wasn't strong or he didn't really believe what the Lord had said was coming, he could've cut many corners in building the Ark: made shoddy tools to build it with, left out costly materials (or some materials altogether), and taken long working breaks. The boat he would've ended up with may have withstood a strong rain storm and a gentle stream of a flood, but not the real deal- not the one that actually came. So we see that Noah's faith WAS TESTED IN ALL THE YEARS LEADING UP TO THE FLOOD. It was also matured grown and proven by the physical evidence (the boat) of what was unseen (his faith). In the same way the Lord does this in our lives, and this is now what is going on in PREPARATION for the coming storm.

In a similar vein, in regards to the story of Esther, her life of faith (her Ark so to speak/ her life of faith before the great trail) was PROVEN and EVIDENCED when it mattered the most. This was an issue of BOTH salvation and present deliverance. The Bible tells us that our faith is TESTED AS BY FIRE, so that it may be to the praise of God's glory. If we do not work this faith out as we should, then when this fire is TURNED UP (as God does so at times in our lives) we risk our faith being revealed for what it really is. If our faith is not as it should be, the TESTING fire might also might become a DESTROYING FIRE (if we succumb to unbelief and offence towards Christ and let that drive us away from him) :

Hebrews 12-

27The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”f

Make no mistake about it, the FIERY TRIAL to come will test our belief in Christ and so by extension our faith unto salvation.

Hebrews 12-

16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.[e]

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now

“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,

Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”[f]

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

The storm will test the VERY SUBTANCE AND QUALITY of our faith (by extension our practical lives in Christ). If these are not as they should be, then the Bible shows us that we cannot count on PRESENT DELIVERANCE. It is likely that the storm will take us or put us through much present suffering, and it could even result in death (which is what happened to Ananias and Saphira). We will either experience the FIERY TRIAL IN FULL in order to make our faith and lives as they should be (to remove what can be shaken), or, if God chooses or if it is necessary to ensure that which cannot be shaken (our salvation), remains, then God will allow or directly end our lives to bring us to Heaven. Above all, God will make sure that our lives, and the work of faith, glorifies him (cutting it short if it is danger of eternally NOT glorifying him). He will FINISH that which he began- preserving our salvation no matter what.

Faith must have an Ark, it must have fruit. It must also be WORKED OUT. Faith's substance and it's very existence must be EVIDENT and EFFECTUAL for it to really be a true faith from him, and to stand the tests that come. This is made all the more true and all the more important considering the storm that's coming, for it has implications not only for this PRESENT life, but also the FUTURE one.