Faith is something that boggles some people's mind and I am ashamed to say it but I have been one of them at times. It has been a struggle for me to build my faith on something or someone that I cannot see and yet I do have quite a bit of faith at times depending on what I am doing or what is happening around me.
Hebrews 1:1 says, "Now faith is the substance hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I couldn't tell you how many times I have read that and seem to understand it and then when a severe trial looms up in my life faith flies out the window for a little while and I grovel in my lack of faith. How can it be?
I have faith that God created the world, I have faith to believe that Christ died for my sins and to save me, I have faith to believe the stories in the Bible and I believe that God loves me, so what is wrong with my faith when trials come my way? I was reading the 'forward' in my New King James Bible this morning and I think I should share it with you to see if it will help us in our 'Faith Walk'. This is the forward to the book of James.
"Faith endures trials. Trials come and go, but a strong faith will face them headon and develop endurance.
Faith understands temptation. it will not allow us to consent to our lust and slide into sin. Faith obeys the Word. It will not merely hear and not do. Faith produces doers. Faith harbors no prejudice. Faith is more than mere words; it is more than knowledge; it is demonstrated by obedience; and it overtly responds to the promises of God. Faith controls the tongue. The small but immensely powerful part of the body must be held in check. Faith can do it. Faith acts wisely. It gives us the ability to choose wisdom that is heavenly and to shun wisdom that is earthly. Faith produces separation from the world and submission to God. It provides us with the ability to resist the devil and humbly draw near to God. Finally faith waits patiently for the coming of the Lord. Through troubles and trials, faith stifles complaining." Do we have faith?
Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
Romans 12:3 (last part) "....God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
Each one of us have a measure of faith that God has given us, according to the verse in Ephesians it is a gift that He has given us and according to Romans, everyone has received a measure of faith, so why is it that faith is so hard to come by. We have faith in a lot of things, we cross a bridge believing it will hold us up, we get in our car believing it will take us where we are going, we trust that no one will hit us as we are driving on the roads to our destination, so we do have faith but when it comes to having faith in God we falter. The Bible says in several places that 'the just shall live by faith'. You can look those up, I think there are four places that say that.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
First, we must believe that God is real and He rewards us when we diligently seek Him or persevere in seeking Him, in other words we can't be lazy in our spiritual walk, we must persevere in our seeking His presence and I believe that the more we do this the more that our faith will grow, because He has already given us a measure of faith, so being in His presence will help us build on what He has given us as a gift.
I really believe that most of us who lack faith, lack perseverance or diligence in seeking Him. Are you guilty of this, I know that I am and I am doing my best to remedy the situation. This was a great lesson for me, how about you? Will you join me in being more diligent in seeking God's presence in your life and thus building up your faith to where you can walk by faith? More on faith tomorrow. Grandma Joan
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