But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
The beginning of the beforementioned Scripture also tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. So, the basic definition of faith, is simply believing in God’s goodness and believing that He rewards the people who seek after Him. This passage describes a conviction that already takes custody of what we hope for and what God has promised us in the future. This present-day ownership of things hoped for and promised in the future is an inner reality. Right now, amid a global pandemic, financial crisis, and social unrest, as our world seems to be falling apart, but we who have faith can stand on the unshakeable promises of God’s peace, provision, mercy, grace, and salvation. His Word can be trusted. We can have full confidence in the Lord’s promises because they are real and a firm foundation for this life.
Another definition of faith contains the same two aspects: intellectual acceptance and trust. Intellectual acceptance is believing something to be true. Trust is actually relying on the fact that the something is true. The analogy of a chair is often used to help illustrate this. The acceptance is recognizing that a chair is in fact a chair and agreeing that it is designed to support a person who sits on it. Trust is actually sitting in the chair.
We grow our faith by experiencing examples of God’s faithfulness. We can start by choosing a promise from the Bible that says if we do one thing, then some specific result will happen, even though the result might not make any sense. Each time we do this and find that the promised result really happens, our faith in God grows. The next time it’s easier for us to do something even when the result seems even more farfetched.
Sometimes, we get the wrong idea when we look only at the end results of a long process. It would be like looking at an Olympic runner and saying you could never run that far or fast. We have to understand that no one starts out at the Olympic level! And as Christians, our faith doesn’t start there either.
Another way to show our faith is by giving. it is the one thing in the bible that God actually wants us to test Him on! Malachi 3:10 it says:
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
As we start the new year, let’s exercise our Faith and see what God will do as a result of our trusting in him despite what we see or feel.
