“Fran, let me pray for you; you look so sick.” Between her coughs and sneezing, she responded, “I’m not sick. By faith, I’m not sick.” That night she became so ill with the flu, she was in bed for three weeks still claiming her faith had healed her. Over the next months, with more disappointments in what she thought faith was, Fran left the church. Sadly, she’s not the only person I’ve watched fall because of their misunderstanding and misuse of faith. Faith is essential for our Christan walk; And without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6). So what is faith?
First, it’s not a denial of reality as Fran thought, neither is it a blank check to get anything you ask for and believe our faith guarantees it. One of the most misleading definitions of faith today says it is a blind leap into the darkness of the unknown, hoping something is out there to catch you. Religionists claim that faith means to believe in something with no evidence. The skeptic Mark Twain remarked, “faith is believing in what ain’t so.” The Bible nowhere asks us to take a blind leap; biblical faith is the exact opposite. Faith is a confident, rational step into the light based on evidence, reason, and relationship. When Paul came to Thessalonica for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures (Act 17:2).
The word translated faith and also trust are from the same root word. The foundation of faith is trust in the object of your faith. Some teach to have faith in your faith. “I’m trusting in my faith.” This makes faith the object of your faith, which is meaningless and leads to disappointment because it has no object. Biblical faith is trust in a person—God. Having faith means that you are trusting in God’s character and trustworthiness. The object of Abraham’s faith was not God’s promise that he would have a son; his faith rested on God Himself.
Note several other facts about faith. First, faith is a gift from God and not something we can create on our own. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). Grace and faith are both divine gifts. God’s grace is not a reward for faith; faith is the result of grace. Faith is a fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith (Gal 5:22 BBE). Faith grows as our knowledge of God grows through our increasing understanding of His word. But faith is more than a passive awareness that comes by studying the Bible. My definition of faith has developed into a simple statement—faith is taking God at His word and acting upon it. Faith puts belief into action, trusting the character of God regardless of the outcome. It does not always bring the results we ask for. We don’t get a new luxury car or new house because we are believing we will. Rather, we are trusting God to bring about His will in our life and what is best.
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were about to be thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace of blazing fire for not bowing to his gods, they responded, If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up” (Dan 3:17, 18 MSG). The object of their faith wasn’t deliverance, it was trust in the Lord that His will would be accomplished.
Habakkuk is another example of trust in God when his crops failed and his herds didn’t produce. He proclaimed When the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce and the fields yield no crops; when the sheep disappear from the pen and there are no cattle in the stalls— I will rejoice because of the Lord; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me (Hab 3:17, 18 NET)!
We hail the men and women of Hebrews 11, as the heroes of faith but can miss an important truth about them. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us . . . (Heb 11:39, 40 NIV). Their faith was not in what they hoped to receive but their trust was in God the provider. We can take a confident and rational step in the light of His Word. For those who have received Jesus’ salvation by faith have learned to trust in Him because of all He has proven to us.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Focus or maybe refocus your faith not on the results but on the One who will provide. And even if He does not give us what we wanted, He has something better.