Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
Okay, so we are asked by God to not only believe in Him, who is an unseen Deity, but also believe that those things we need and/or hope for are here, in spite of the fact that they have not yet materialized. Crazy stuff, eh? But that is what faith is; believing in the unseen as if it could be seen.
In the words of our pastor, “we need to exercise our faith all day long, each day”. The Pastor’s right. We need to keep our faith ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to use at a moment’s notice. We never want to have to dust it off, for that would mean we have not been exercising it at all. We need faith for a lot of things. Frankly, we need faith that the chair we are about to sit in will hold us. That is an area where my faith was tested several weeks ago when the chair I was sitting on crumpled to the ground … the legs splitting which caused a crashing fall. My ego was bruised, nothing else.
Faith is a gift that is bestowed upon us by God Himself. His Holy Spirit, which dwells within us if we are born again, reminds us who we are and whose we are. He shows us when and where to utilize our faith. It is based on standing on the promises God has given us in His word. If God says He “will never leave us, nor forsake us”* … it will require faith to not only believe that, but also to stand firm in the face of our adversary.
Did you know that it is impossible to please God without faith?
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) “And 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.”
It stands to reason that you would have to have a modicum** of faith just to believe in God to begin with, wouldn’t you agree? And let’s face it; we all place our faith in something or someone, do we not? We believe that things will happen even though they have yet to happen. That is faith. Faith in God is much more difficult though. When we exercise our faith in God it is a little more complicated than having the faith to believe that your team will win their game. We are talking about eternal issues here; at times issues of life and death … important, at times, life altering issues. It is then that we must exercise our faith and believe that God is in control. This is when we summon our greatest recollection powers to remember all the times God has failed to do exactly what He has promised. You will be thinking about that one for quite some time, but the answer is simple: because He is perfect and the definition of truth, He cannot fail and has never failed to do what His word declares He wThis is tremendous news for the believer.
Faith and trust are the main pillars of our belief system. Faith and trust give birth to hope and hope is vital to believers. Having no hope breeds despair and ultimate defeat. But we have no reason to lose hope, for our adversary the devil has already been defeated; he just hasn’t the good graces to lie down. So exercise your faith, trust in God and allow His presence in your life give you hope for tomorrow.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
* Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; Psalm 9:10; Psalm 37:25, 28; Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
** a small or token amount.
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