Christian faith is all about trusting God, His Word, and His promises regardless of what you see, don’t see, or your circumstances!
The choices you have made have determined the pattern of your life and your present circumstances, good or bad. All of the choices you make are based on what you believe. Your faith comes from what you believe. EVERYBODY has faith! We all put our faith in something. One definition of faith is something that is believed, especially with strong conviction. Having Christian faith says you believe you are made right before God by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Christians SHOULD put their faith in God and God alone. However, some of us put our faith in our money, our relationships, ourselves, other people, our job, our government, etc. We even put our faith in our fears, worries, feelings and problems! The reason I say this is because we put our faith in those things we believe control our lives and will not let us down. Let’s use fear as an example. Some people believe all of their fears will come true. Therefore, they aren’t let down if this happens, they make their choices based on their fears, thus, those things have control of them. Fear is what their faith is based on because THAT is what they believe in. It’s unfortunate, but true.
The really sad thing is that all of the other things I mentioned (money, relationships, ourselves, our jobs, our problems, etc.) are so much smaller than God. These things are unreal, man made, or temporary. They are ALL UNRELIABLE! ANYTHING you put your faith in other than God will hold you in bondage. The reason for this is once you put your faith in something and you believe it will not disappoint you, you will fear losing it. Your fear will make you a slave to the thing you put all your trust in because unknowingly, you give authority to those things you are counting on to maintain and sustain you and get you through life. All of your life decisions will be based on preserving yourself and you will believe your self-preservation is based on not losing the thing you have put your faith in. This kind of thinking has determined your current circumstance. Have you put your faith in God or something else?
The Bible says Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame (Romans 10:17, 8-9, 11).
The Bible says Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 11:1, Romans 15:13 NIV). As a believer in Christ, you should have the ultimate freedom and stability because you place your faith, hope, and trust in the living God. He spared you from His wrath, He saved you, He loves you, He is all-powerful, and He promises to NEVER leave you nor forsake you (Joshua 1:5) so He will be with you forever. There is nothing in heaven or on earth that compares to Him! You should put 100% of your faith in Him and only Him! You have to believe God more than anything else.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) says All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible is the inspired Word of God. Therefore, it is the highest standard of authority in the life of all Christians. True faith means you pray to God and believe His Word and His promises. Through your faith, you have to believe that God will do all the things He says in His Word. When you read the Bible, your faith grows through your confidence in His Word and the personal relationship that develops with God as you get to know Him through the Scriptures. You must put your faith in God and believe Him more than how things look, what other people say, what you think and how you feel. You have to trust Him regardless of your circumstances. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) says We live by faith, not by sight.
Every Christian has faith in God. You might not believe it, but it’s true. The Bible says…think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘ Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you (Romans 12:3, Matthew 17:20-21 NIV). God has given you enough faith to pray to Him and with His power you can overcome any problems or difficulties (this mountain) and serve your purpose and do the things He has called you to do. Even with just a little faith in God, nothing will be impossible for you. God has already placed faith in you, but you have to act on it and make it a reality in your life.
Your Christian faith becomes active through your thoughts, your actions, and your prayer life. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) says And without faith is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. God wants you to come to Him in prayer. You demonstrate your faith through your prayer life. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV) says Pray without ceasing. Continual prayer exemplifies a faith-filled relationship with God. This doesn’t mean you pray endlessly. It means you engage in frequent conversations with God through prayer throughout your day. By faith you must believe that He exists. This sounds like it would be a part of Basic Christianity 101, but the sad truth is that many Christians live like atheists. They say they believe God exists, but they make decisions according to worldly standards and live their lives as if there is no Bible and God hasn’t spoken. This is due to a LACK of faith. Just believing God exists is not an indication of strong faith. James 2:19 (NLT) says Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Your demonstration of faith will require more than just acknowledging God’s existence. God wants to be known. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Your Christian faith is defined by the kind of relationship you have with God. Do you pursue Him? Are you seeking to do things His way? Are you reading His Word to know Him more intimately? Having God in your life and the awareness of His presence is a reward in itself! God is your unrivaled pleasure, your eternal treasure!
When you know God, you know He is dwelling in your heart. He is with you in every circumstance of life. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you. When you pray by faith, you see God work. You, then, know He lives because you see His work. As you see His truth and promises come alive in your life you see His character and you realize He is whom He says He is and He will do what He says He will do (He can’t lie and He can’t fail! We can, but He can’t). Your faith grows because you have witnessed the evidence of His work in your life. True faith transfers what you think and what you can do to what God says and what He can do.
The more Christian faith you have, the more meaningful, fulfilling, trusting, intimate and fruitful your relationship will be with God. By faith you believe God exists. By faith you pray to Him. By faith you are declared righteous through Christ and, thus, you are saved. By faith you believe His Word is truth. By faith you trust Him and believe He will do what He promises. Put your faith in what Christ has done and not what you can do. You will continue to pray in faith and grow in faith because you have seen the proof of His work. God is your everything! He is all you need and HE IS ENOUGH! Matthew 19:26 (NIV) says Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”.
Go Live The Victory!
