Essential to a Christian’s relationship with Jesus Christ is Faith. Faith that God created the world for His glory. Isaiah 43:7 Romans 1:20 Faith that God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 Faith that He rose again on the third day. I Corinthians 15:17 Faith that if we repent from our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9 Faith that our repentance and belief in the name of the Lord Jesus creates in us a new life. Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 10:13 And faith that our Savior will return and reunite with His church. John 14:2-4
But what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” KJV That’s a pretty profound verse! “The substance of things hoped for”, what does that mean? Well, we use faith in our every day lives, but probably don’t give it a second thought. When we put the key in the ignition of our car, we have faith it will start. Cross a bridge and have faith that the engineers designed it to not fail. Going to sit in that chair? Better have faith that it will support you. The “substance” of what we hope for in these instances is in their reliability to not fail us, even though we really have no evidence or proof that they won’t. The difference is that these “things” will eventually fail. It is a faith in man, in things of this world. One day your car won’t start, that bridge won’t last forever, it’ll one day need repairs, and that chair’s likely lifespan is only a few years if you’re lucky.
The only thing worth having faith in, that will not fail, is the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. He is where the substance of our hope should rest. Even though we have not seen Him with our eyes, the evidence is all around us. The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” As Christians, the importance of faith cannot be understated. Proverbs 3:3 tells us, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” The Apostle Paul reminds us to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle with the Armor of God, which includes the Shield of Faith, to extinguish the fiery darts from the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 In military terms, the shield allows for attacks to be deflected and kept away from the body. In fact, the 2nd century Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus states, “To lose one’s shield is the basest of crimes.” What a beautiful analogy to apply to the Shield of Faith. Keep hold of it! Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20 that faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain and that with it nothing is impossible. Hebrews 11 is filled with a history of faith that’s exhibited by a who’s who of biblical characters to complete many amazing feats. In fact, the word faith is mentioned 25 times (NIV) in this chapter alone. But for all of their faith, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 The promise that they did receive because of their faith was eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Not only is it important to realize the power of strong faith, but it is perhaps even more important to realize that our God is faithful. As I alluded to earlier, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive. I John 1:9 The Lord’s faithfulness is magnificent and worthy of praise. The psalmist, King David, sings of God’s faithfulness in Psalm 100:5, “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” David praises the Lord’s faithfulness throughout Psalms and does so elegantly in Psalm 57:10, “For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” The Lord wants us to understand that His faithfulness is unconditional, as is His love. He abounds with love and faithfulness and expects us to model our lives in the same manner.
Many times in our lives it’s easy to talk about faith, especially when things are going well. But it’s when we’re in the midst of a storm that faith is most important. It’s at our lowest point when we grab hold of our faith. How then do we achieve it? The Bible tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17 Achieving faith goes back to our foundation on the Bible. http://voiceoftruthblog.com/?p=5 Paul’s description of the shield of faith was inclusive of the full Armor of God. Did warriors enter battle with a shield alone? No, it works in tandem with every piece of armor and we therefore are charged to, “…Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:13-18 Faith is so important in our daily lives. For Christians, we need only to open God’s word to increase our Faith. For non-Christians, you need to understand that faith in yourself, other people, and things of this world will inevitably fail you. The only infallible faith is that in Jesus Christ. It is available to you if you just reach out for it. In order to begin your journey into faith, you need only to step out of your worldly comfort zone and receive Christ as your Savior. To do so, simply click here http://voiceoftruthblog.com/?page_id=3 or click on the Knowing the Truth tab above.
Have a blessed day!
