Faith Archives - Page 6 of 14

Why Faith

Why I Wrote About Faith

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about faith. What it is, how to use it and how to have Faith when all attempts of my own efforts fail. In my heart, I believe that people can struggle with their faith. For that reason, I wanted to share some of my own faith victories and struggles this time.

My Struggle

Faith for me was always something that I heard about in church. I knew I was supposed to have it, that I was supposed to use it and I even knew a scripture or two. Despite all of this I struggled with developing my own faith.

Rules & Laws Are Not the Way

I tend to be a person that likes steps and rules. The 5 Steps for this or the 7 Laws of that, tend to be right up my alley. That is how I think. It makes concepts and processes easy for me to understand.

What I failed to understand was that believing in God and then trusting in Him was more than 5 or 7 steps. It is more than fulfilling certain rules and laws. Following steps doesn’t build trust in God. It distances us from God and makes Him seem like an unapproachable boss rather than the loving Father that He truly is.

What I Really Needed

Following rules and laws are good, but it doesn’t help me develop a real relationship with God. I didn’t really trust Him. I was trusting more in the rules and laws to get the results that I wanted.

Today, I like to think that I’ve gotten better. I honestly still struggle with thinking that sometimes it would be easier to just follow the rules and then get the results. However, some of the best parts of being in a relationship with God have nothing to do with the “things” that come. Some of the best parts are the comfort that comes from being able to be open and honest with God. The peace that comes from knowing Him. He has helped me in more ways than I can count.

Be Honest

There is nothing wrong with being honest with God and telling Him that we are struggling with something. Even if it is trusting in Him. God will prove Himself to you. Just as He did for me.

Getting Better

My relationship with God is stronger now than it was in the past. I know that it can get better and as a result my faith will be positively impacted. I look forward to growing in this relationship, so that I can tell others about God and how He transformed my life.

What has helped you in your relationship with God? How does your faith come into play?

Using Your Faith

The last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at the subject of Faith. Faith is the pinnacle of the Christian life. We’ve looked at what faith is and how to have faith. All the while the attempt is to ultimately make us stronger in our faith and trust in God.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Is Faith is important?

Our faith is essential to living a life that is pleasing to God. That’s what our lives should be based on. In the last post I discussed how Faith in God can be related to Trust in God. So, Hebrews 11:6 is saying that to please God we must trust Him.

Our Faith in Actions

If we trust God then our actions should line up with that fact. Our actions show what’s in our hearts. They also show what we truly believe in.

It’s the same in a relationship. I have faith in my wife. There is a relationship built where I trust her to do what’s best for our family. I have faith in her to do what God has called her to do. My actions in our relationship reflect that trust. I don’t have to monitor every dollar that she spends. I don’t have to track every conversation or keep track every time she goes out with her friends.

James 2:17 (ESV)
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

The actions that make up our lives, should be actions that are pleasing to God.

Is it as simple as living by the ten commandments? That may be a good place to start, but there is a deeper level that we can attain. The problem with the ten commandments is that they were laws. While laws to live our lives by are great, laws without relationship leaves you disconnected to God.

Seeing God in Our Lives

When we accept Jesus into our hearts, He lives there. If He lives there, then there is the ability for Him to be talking to us everyday. Everyday we can hear words from Him. Those words help us to trust Him. His words help us to identify His actions in our lives. Seeing His actions in our lives will show us that God loves us. Trusting Him is having Faith in God.

It is all connected. Using our faith should be an everyday occurrence. Every action, every part of who we are has the potential to be an extension of our faith. Begin using your faith today.

What is Faith?

Last week I started with an article called How to Have Faith. Beginning this series on faith, one of the most important questions to ask is “What is Faith?” You don’t hear it a lot in everyday conversations. Is it something that is used in church circles? Can it be more than a trigger word used Sunday mornings?

I’m sure there is a super deep answer to the above questions. Those types of definitions and explanations don’t resonate with me. I like to start with the most basic definition and then build from there. For me, Faith is Trust.

Complete Trust

Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something (Webster’s Dictionary). To say that I have faith in God means that I have complete trust and confidence in Him. I trust Him to honor His word, the Bible.

Sometimes it can seem hard to trust God because we can rely so much on our five senses as the basis for what we put our trust in. It’s easy to trust that my paycheck will be in my bank account because I physically went to work for the past two weeks.

It can be easy to trust in something like gravity because our feet are still in contact with the ground. We haven’t heard any stories of people that suddenly were walking and then floating.

In each of these examples there is an aspect where one or more of our five senses is involved. So why is the struggle to have faith in God so real?

Do We Trust our 5 Senses?

Trusting or having faith in God can be a struggle because we must do without our five senses or in a way that our five senses are not used to. Can I touch, see, hear, taste, or smell God?

It is through our hearts that I believe we experience God. Through that experience, we can involve our five senses. God can touch my heart in a way that pain is no longer there. In my heart, I can see a brighter future than I deserve. It is in my heart that I hear His voice speaking to me. Through the experience, I can taste life as God has it.

As Good As His Word

People use to say that a man was only as good as his word. I’ve think we’ve lost sight of that today. Most people are only good if there is something in it for them. God, however, is as good as His word.

Isaiah 55:11(KJV)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Like any relationship, trust in the other person begins in small steps. Let’s begin to trust God with small steps. From my own experience, I can tell you that it will be the beginning of the best relationship that you will ever have.