How is your faith? Has it found a “resting place?” Are you willing to share your faith? Generally, faith is “complete confidence and trust in a person or thing.” However, for a Christian faith is “strong belief and confidence” in God Almighty—the God of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible gives us the best explanation of faith: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3).
In commenting on Hebrews 1:1, Dr. Charles Stanley writes, “Faith is confidence that the Lord will do what He has promised. It is not simply wishful thinking. It is the the absolute conviction that God is not only willing but able to accomplish all He has pledged to us, regardless of how our circumstances may appear or what obstacles may have to be overcome. As the saints of old learned, your confidence in Him is never in vain, for “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). (Life Principles Bible, p. 1499).
The Christian enters the “Christian life” by faith, trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and lives it by faith. Without faith we cannot please God. The writer to the Hebrews also tells us that “Without faith is is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). We must trust God unconditionally if we are going to be in the center of His will. And even when we cannot fully understand His dealings with us. For some, seeing is believing. But for the Christian “believing is seeing.” What really matters to us as Christians is our “Faith in God,” because we believe what God says He means and He means what He says. He will never deny His word. We can also claim His promises because what He promises will come to pass. They cannot fail. Paul writes: “All the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory” (2 Corinthians 1:20). “Amen” means “so be it.”
Faith is unwavering confidence in God, who we have never seen but we believe what He says is true and acceptable and we act on it. One must have faith in order to know God. There is no other way. “For, first, without faith there is no capacity for communion with God at all. The things of God are spiritual and invisible—without faith we cannot recognize such things but must be dead to them. Faith is the eye which sees. But without that eye we are blind and can have no fellowship with God in those sacred truths which only faith can perceive. Faith is the hand of the soul, and without it, we have no grasp of eternal things. If I were to mention all the images by which faith is set forth, each one would help you to see that you must have faith in order to know God and enter into converse with Him. It is only by faith that we can recognize God, approach Him, speak to Him, hear Him, feel His presence and be delighted with His perfections. He that has not faith is toward God as one dead.” (Faith Essential To Pleasing God No. 2100 by C.H. Spurgeon, 8.18.1889).
The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and may be defined as that trust in the God of the Bible and also in the Lord Jesus Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and impels to loving obedience and good works. There are different applications of faith. For example, for salvation, faith is personal trust in Jesus Christ to accept Him as Lord and Savior. Also, in prayer, faith is believing that God not only hears but answers our prayers as well. Prayer is the means that God has ordained for us talk and commune with Him.
The Bible tells us that the “Just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). This means that the Christian must live in submission to God, His word, His will, and His purposes. Doing those things that honor and please God pays big dividends. Faith requires fully “trusting in God with all our hearts and not leaning to our understanding, but in all our ways acknowledging the Lord and He will direct our paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6). Acknowledging God in all that we do means submitting to His leading, direction, and guidance every day. Remember. God is faithful. He keeps His word forever. Thats why we can trust Him unconditionally. He cannot fail for He is God. He cannot fail for He has pledged His word. He will see you through irrespective of the circumstances. He declared: “Call on Me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). Pray to God expectantly, anticipating His loving response to your requests. He keeps His word.