Living by Faith

“God makes a promise.
Faith believes it.
Hope anticipates it.
Patience quietly awaits it.”

D. L. Moody

What is faith?

It is the seventh fruit of the Spirit in our series. Hebrews chapter 11 known as the “Hall of Faith” gives a list of men and women from the Old Testament who lived by faith despite obstacles or the unknown or other things that would normally make a person doubt. The chapter opens in verse one with a definition or description of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith and hope go together; when we have faith in God, we have hope that what He promised, we can expect. “Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body” (Matthew Henry).

By faith, Noah started building a large boat, an ark, even though at that time rain had never fallen on the earth (Hebrews 11:7). Abraham trusted God to lead his family to a strange land because he had faith (Hebrews 11:8). Rahab, a Canaanite woman, known in the past as a harlot, had faith in the God of the Hebrew spies so that her little section of the Jericho wall remained standing when the rest was decimated (Hebrews 11:30-31).

How do you get faith?

Galatians 3:11b “The just shall live by faith.” To be considered “just” in God’s eyes, we must first have faith. Faith is the door through which we must all pass in order to have salvation, to know one day heaven will be our home. Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith is the first sure sign of the spiritual life within the human breast.” Once we have faith, i.e., trust in God, then we must begin to exercise our faith or trust in God in our daily lives. To grow our faith, we need to grow our knowledge of God. The more we learn, the more we understand how He keeps His promises, and the more we know this, the more our faith increases.

What will stretch and grow our faith in God? Seeing God for who He really is, understanding His character and attributes (love, mercy, grace, etc), knowing He wants to bless my life, and realizing that He has a greater purpose for my life whether I understand or not what is happening in my life. This will stretch and grow our faith!

Paul is a good example of growing his faith through the kept promises of God. In 1 Timothy 1:12 he wrote to Timothy telling him even though he had suffered much, Paul was not ashamed of his faith in Jesus Christ, and he knew He would keep His word. Paul once again lays claim to living in faith because of the love and sacrifice of Jesus (Galatians 2:20).

If having faith was easy, it wouldn’t be called faith. “Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” – Corrie ten Boom

Hebrews 12:2 says it well: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” When the unknown is in front of you, look up to Jesus and what is in front of you will grow blurry.

“My faith rests not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but what Christ is, in what He has done and in what He is now doing for me.”

Charles Spurgeon

You don’t have to take giant steps of faith for God to use you. God doesn’t just move through the dramatic. God uses us in our daily small steps of faithfulness. It is consistency in our daily lives – trusting Him, reading your Bible, praying, striving to live a righteous life, serving others through Him…just being faithful to the One who has ALWAYS been faithful to us.

Do you let circumstances affect your faith in God? Make faith a matter of habit. Call out to and rely on the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith. Determine that you will trust God no matter what and as you commit and make it a routine, you will find your faith continuing to grow. 💕