FAITH IS ABSOLUTE TRUST IN THE GOD WHO KNOWS AND LOVES US
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“Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” – St. Augustine –
Our Heavenly Father desires that we have a faith that transcends circumstances. A faith that believes in His perfect wisdom… that says “yes” when our rational minds may be saying “no”. A faith that stands firm when our world is shaken… that trusts when our prayers seem to go unanswered
God may at times bring us to a critical point where our faith either deepens or falls away. Perhaps circumstances in our lives are not unfolding as planned. Maybe we are persisting in prayer until our prayers are not answered within our time frame… or in the way we had hoped or expected.
Will we unite with our Lord in absolute confidence that His way is best? Will we resolutely trust our Lord’s ability to work all in His divine way? Or will we allow our faith to fade because we believe our way is best? Will we abandon our faith in our all-knowing God and go our own way?
As we explore faith a bit deeper… as we delve into God’s Word for His revelation… we will better understand God’s view of faith and how to live it out in our lives. Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. The Bible Dictionary defines Christian faith in this way:
“Christians find their security and hope in God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and say ‘Amen’ to that unique relationship to God in the Holy Spirit through love and obedience, as expressed in lives of discipleship and service.”
The apostle Paul gives us key definitions of faith in his letters…
- “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1
- “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” – Romans 10:17
- “By grace you have been saved through faith.” – Ephesians 2:8
- “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7
- “All things are possible for one who believes.” – Mark 9:23
- “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18
- “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6
Faith is of God. We cannot create faith. God plants faith in our hearts. Faith brings us to salvation in Christ. It leads us along a path toward spiritual maturity. Faith grows and deepens according to how we respond to the challenges life brings our way.
The beginning point of faith is believing in God’s character… He is who He says He is. Faith is not leaping into the dark, having no evidence of what is there. We have God’s Word… the testimony of the faithful ones who walked with Jesus… and the witness of countless lives transformed by Christ through the ages. We have the deep assurance of His Spirit present within us transforming our lives.
“Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.” – Andrew Murray, Theologian
The end point of faith is believing in God’s promises… He will do what He says He will do. Faith lived out in our daily lives places our unknown future into the hands of a known God. We may not know what our future holds, but we know and love the One who holds our future. We stake our claim on His promises, believing that He will fulfill all that He has pledged for us.
If our lives are not progressing as we would have liked… if answers to our prayers are long in coming, we do not lose hope. Our faith rests in our Rock. Our faith transcends the happenings in our lives. We thank our God and praise Him no matter what. For His plans for us are to give us hope and a wonderful future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Our eternal God is beyond space and time as we know it. He is beyond what our minds can comprehend. Our senses cannot grasp the most important, invisible realities. God is “behind the scenes” working to bring about His holy purpose. We look with our eyes of faith to the unseen realities that our sovereign God is orchestrating.
We trust in Him with our spiritual senses… this God whom we know and love. Our spirits sense His love and compassion for us. Our hearts are strengthened, our courage renewed. We place our all into His hands. That is true faith.
