Previously we talked about our identity being found in Jesus and all He says about us in the Word. In order for that to manifest in our lives, we need something called faith. By definition, Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something, which means we believe it with every fibre of our beings. One huge bonus for us is, we have the luxury of knowing how the story ends and it’s that Jesus comes out victorious in every battle He faces. With this in mind, you’d think having faith in Him would be a little easier right?!
However, the Bible urges us to be sober-minded as we have an adversary who doesn’t stop but is continuously seeking to devour us by sowing seeds of doubt. It’s what he did to Adam & Eve in the garden….his tactics don’t change y’all – be aware.
Don’t be too hard on yourself though, there are ‘levels to this!’ With each passing day as we continue to walk the journey with Christ, our faith will grow. Jesus makes reference to this in Matt 8:10 when He says “I have not found such great faith..”
How can we exercise faith? Dr. Evans very profoundly said, “Faith is tied to a substance that you haven’t experienced with your five senses but you are convinced is real based on the integrity of the subject that is calling for the faith.” Whew! Read that one more time. “You are convinced is real based on the INTEGRITY of the subject that is requiring your faith.” My God that’s good! I’d respond by saying start by looking at the track record of the God we’re discussing, check out His character.
- He’s ALL KNOWING (Psalms 44:21 KJV) ”Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”
- He’s the Creator of ALL things (Colossians 1:16 KJV) “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
- He’s Omnipresent (Proverbs 15:3 KJV) “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
- His ways are perfect (2 Samuel 22:31 KJV) “As for God, his way is perfect…”
- His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9 KJV ) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
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There’s a quote by George Mueller that I’d love to share, it says “Faith ends where worry begins and worry ends where faith begins.” Meaning when you begin to worry about something you’ve already placed in the hands of God your faith in His ability stops. On the flip side when you realize that worrying does you no good and that the only One who is able to resolve the situation is He Who sits upon the throne you offload the burden to Him and can then rest in His Sovereignty.
Life can throw some unpleasant punches our way from time to time, in some cases it feels like it’s back to back and you can’t catch a break but if you have faith in the Lord and trust the process I promise you’ll be better for it. James 1:2-3 says ” 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” That doesn’t mean to pretend you’re enjoying the trial but it means to base your joy on the promise of what God intends to do in you with this trial. These trials come to purify your faith which then produces patience and then endurance.
“Faith is only as meaningful as the substance or thing to which it is attached.“ – Dr. Tony Evans
Faith is not an emotion, it’s not about how you feel but about what you know to be factual. I’ll end with this, Hebrews 11:6 states “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Faith is the KEY thing that we need if we want to honor the Lord. Keep exercising your faith muscles and remember He has never lost a battle.