Let’s talk about faith…

Dear friends,

what is faith for you?

How do you know that you have faith?

Don’t get offended, I am serious.
I mean we all know something about it and we all have our own definition of it and we all know we must have faith, right?
And we all know that without faith, it is impossible to please GOD according to
Hebrews 11:6.

In fact, the entire chapter is about faith.
If you are ever wondering what faith truly is, I recommend that you read the entire chapter, at least, if you would like to know what GOD says about faith.

Let’s look at more of this chapter, at the very beginning:

Hebrews 11: 1-2
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

What does this mean to you?

What it means to me is that faith is about believing in GOD, of course, but also in so much more.

Most of us know that GOD loves us.

Right?

And that HE will comfort us and keep us and never leave us, no matter what happens, even until eternity will HE be OUR LOVING FATHER.

This is great.
And I am eternally grateful for it and have experienced MY FATHER’s love so many times, in fact, I am very aware of it most of the time. And I am by no means trying to belittle these truths and wonderful blessings.

But this is not all.

And keywords for me in this passage and also in the definition and explanation what faith is, are the words “unseen” and also “hoped for”.

So what if someone asked you about your faith, what would you tell them?

Would you tell them what GOD has done for you?
Or how you came to believe in HIM?
Or would you describe the evidence of GOD’s presence in your life and explain how HE has changed you or is teaching you THE TRUTH?

Or how would you explain your own personal faith?

The above approaches are all valid and good and appropriate and I am sure that when you talk to a person who is not a Christian, if that person loves you and truly wants to understand you, they will listen to you and ask questions and take a lot of time to truly find out where you are coming from and why this JESUS CHRIST is so important to you.

The interest and time someone who is not a believer will devote to understanding your faith probably varies or decreases the less close they are to you.

Unless…

Have you ever seen or been blessed with a miracle?

If you have, you will have NO difficulties whatsoever to explain why you have faith in THE ONE TRUE LIVING GOD.

Everybody will understand and everybody will listen and perhaps even follow you in your faith and give their life to JESUS as well, especially when they believe that you are telling the truth about the miracle you have seen or experienced in your own life.

The above mentioned chapter of the bible, Hebrews 11, is full of miracles, the stories we have heard so many times and the stories we Christians love so much.

Because they give us hope.
They show us what OUR GOD can do.

And the best thing is, that the bible promises us that HE will do the same things for us as for these people in the old days, the ones mentioned all over the bible…

But the very, truly, bestest, fantasticest thing of all is that in Hebrews chapter 11, the writer of the chapter is making a link, perhaps the most important link for us to understand, the link between the miracles these people encountered and HOW they came to them:

BY FAITH.

When you do your studies and read all the stories Hebrews 11 is referring to, you will always find the same pattern:
a difficult, if not desperate situation, something very unpleasant, a calamity, an affliction, was removed, reversed and turned into a blessing by GOD for someone who believed HIM for a miracle!

Even JESUS responded to faith a lot in HIS healing stories and rewarded faith many times!
Just a few examples:
Mark 5: 34 “daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole”
Luke 7:9″in Israel have I not seen faith like this”
Matthew 14:31″o thou of little faith”

Matthew 17:20 “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you”

There are countless quotes about it in the bible, the New Testament is full of them, JESUS was talking about faith all the time!

Why is that?
Because it is so important to GOD.
HE wants us to believe in HIM.
And if we believe that HE exists, that is a good thing and a good beginning.
If we believe HE loves us, our lives will change for the better and we will never be alone anymore.
BUT if we believe that HE can do anything, and anything HE has done for the people in the stories of the bible, that HE can do the same for US today, that’s when our lives truly change and when we will see healings, miracles and blessings and when we will see our prayers get answered.

Dear friends, do not limit GOD through your faith.
Do not just give HIM credit for knowing everything and loving us always and giving us eternal life after our death, don’t get me wrong, these are the greatest blessings and no other FATHER ever will or could give them to us.
But OUR FATHER wants to give us so much more!
And HE wants to bless us while we are still here!
HE wants to give us life, and that more abundantly.
HE wants to give us a sound mind.
HE is THE LORD that healeth us.

If only we believe and have faith in HIM.

I hope and pray that this would inspire and bless you and that THE LORD would bless you richly in all areas of your life, that HE would keep you and shine HIS face upon you and bring you peace. In JESUS’ name I pray. Amen.