By Faith...we do what?

What can your faith do to spur you on?

By Faith.

We do what?

Faith is, according to Scripture, the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

What is substance? It is the essence of something. It it what something is made of...it is tangible. What is evidence? Is the support of something believed. It is what you search for when you are looking for an answer. So if FAITH is the tangible essence of the support for what we believe about the answers we are looking for as we seek after God, we must realize that it is an essential part of our walk with Him.

In fact, He tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that "it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists, and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him." But how much faith is enough?

This is a question that I have struggled with my whole Christian life, and to be honest, one that I wrestle with on a daily basis. I struggle with envy as I watch others who seem to float effortlessly through life, as though it had been handed to them on a silver platter. What are they really having to trust God for anyway?? I really look closely to those who walk through many trials and terribly dark days with their faith in tact...even strengthened in some cases. What makes these stalwart soldiers march on through the darkness, with their eyes resolutely fixed upon the face of Jesus?

To answer that question, one could look at Hebrews 11 and 12- lovingly referred to by many as the "Faith"chapters. These two chapters contain more encouragement on the belief that one can persevere through the darkest days with their faith in tact than most places I have found in Scripture. I have been lifted up on so many occasions by reading through the stories of Abraham, Moses, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and on and on. These true heroes of "faith" walked through trials and difficult circumstances. God asked very INCREDIBLE things of them, and truly asked them to have faith in the things that they would not see. Hebrews 11:39 states "All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised." This means that they lived and died "in faith", most not ever seeing the complete, or some even partial, fulfillment of what God had shown them.

What is God showing you? What is He asking of you? It may seem impossible...most things that He asks of us are. I heard a great quote once that has stuck with me. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. We are ALL a work in progress. Some days your faith may be huge. Other days it may seem totally absent. But remember this at all times- Jesus said that if we have faith the size of only a mustard seed, we can MOVE mountains (Matt 17:20). A mustard seed is one of the smallest of all seeds, but when it comes to fruition it is often larger than most of the garden plants in Israel. It usually grows to the size of a tree large enough for birds to nest and makes their homes in. Something that starts out so small...yet given time, water, sunlight, and nourishment grows larger than many of its counterparts.

Every man is given a measure of faith in His life (Romans 12:3). If you want your faith to grow, you need to exercise it. It's like a muscle. And how do we exercise it? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  If you want your faith to grow, spend time with the faith giver. Spend time in His word. Spend time in His presence. Spend time with His people. We are not islands unto ourselves. We need the spiritual nourishment that comes from joining together and coming together in common faith to encourage and exhort one another.

Believe in Him. He is FAITHFUL! Every time. In every way. Even when we cannot see the evidence in a particular circumstance. And perhaps, we like so many before us, will die "in faith", not seeing this side of heaven the outcome we prayed and believed for. Not seeing that promise that God gave us over the years. For example, are you praying for someone to come to Christ...here is a newsflash...you may not see it happen in your lifetime. But if you are praying in faith, and you feel that God has assured you that your loved one will come to know Him, keep trusting. He is faithful and will do what is necessary to draw them.

By Faith. Think hard about what that means to you...and let us do all in our power to show ourselves faithful to the one who is so faithful to us.

Think of those in Hebrews...and what was said of them "all these people earned a good reputation because of their faith". Will the same be said of us?

Blessings ~~