What is Faith?
Friday, February 04, 2005 (07:08:15)

Posted by Rod

I read this message from time to time to remind myself of the truth it contains. Knowing what is right, doesn't miraculously make it easier to embrace. It takes work, because we have flesh to crucify everyday.

Luke 17:5-6
17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
17:6 So the Lord replied, If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.

A mulberry tree has an extensive root system. Pulling one out of the ground would be unthinkable. Matthew references removing a mountain.

We all know the Lord expects us to have faith (Romans 1:17). We all know we are each given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). We all know without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), but what is faith?

If you ask a Christian to describe faith, they might quote, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) Almost every one of us knows that scripture. It sounds nice when we say it, but deep down inside, most Christians still do not know what faith is. They think it is believing something or believing in God, but is that what faith really is?

James says, "You say you believe. Big, fat, hairy deal! The devils believe and they shake in their boots!" (I obviously paraphrased James 2:19) He goes on to say that faith without works is dead (James 2:20), and we take that to mean we have to do good things to show the world we have faith. There is a lot more to it than that.

Before we discuss what faith is, I'll tell you what faith is not. Faith is not psyching yourself into believing something. You cannot convince yourself of anything you do not believe no matter how many times you repeat the mantra. Faith is not hoping in or for something. Remember, faith is the 'substance' of things hoped for, not the other way around. You cannot hope for something, expecting faith to follow. Hope is a different fruit of the Spirit than faith.

Faith is so simple, the concept eludes most people. They have it, but they just don't know it.

Everyone lives by faith in one way or another. When a husband kisses his wife goodbye and leaves for the office in the morning, his wife doesn't weep and wail all day long, worried if he will return or not, does she? Absolutely not! She goes on with her business, knowing he will return at the appointed time. Why? Because he always does, that's why! Every morning he leaves for work and every night he comes home. Day in and day out, her husband consistently takes care of her. She has faith in him because he has never let her down.

You climb in his car, turn the key in the ignition switch and start the car. You put it in drive and take off. You think nothing of it when the car starts because it has always started for you before.

You walk to a light switch in your house and flip it up. The lights come on and you think nothing of it because they always do. You have faith, not necessarily in God, but you have faith.

If the husband doesn't take care of his wife or doesn't come home regularly, the wife might have a reason to fret. If you drive a car, known to have problems starting, you might wince every time you turn the key in the ignition. If the power and light company can't seem to keep the power lit to your house for one reason or another and the lights seldom come on when you throw the switch, you might have faith in candles.

Unlike the world, God is always there, providing for us. He always hears when we pray. There is no spiritual power shortage. If this is true, and it is, why is it so difficult for people to have faith in God? The answer is easy. Because they don't give Him a chance. The wife gives her husband a chance to go to work and come home. You give your car a chance to start. You give the power company a chance to deliver power to your lights. You don't give God a chance to take care of you because you don't trust Him. You are used to taking care of yourself. Remember, faith is the evidence of things not seen. If you see it, you don't need faith. If you are taking care of yourself, you don't need faith. You need a job. Then, you have faith in that job. In this economy, that may not be a wise decision.

Let's get back to James for a moment. James says faith without works is dead. You show me your faith without works and I'll show you my faith by my works, etc. (James 2:18) Remember? Here's how this works. We all agree that God wants us to feed the hungry, right? When is the last time you did just that? (Your kids don't count in this illustration.) I was at the grocery store one day and there was a lady behind me, counting her change. She was trying to figure out if she could afford what she had laid on the counter. I leaned over to the cashier and said, "Put her things on my bill." They cashier reached back and picked up her items. She said she wanted to check a price or two. Beep. Beep. The items rang up. I paid the bill and walked out without saying a word. How is that showing faith? I gave everything in my wallet to the cashier and I didn't have a job. I didn't do it, thinking, "God will take care of me." In fact, that was probably the last thing on my mind. I did it because I knew the woman needed help. By the way, the woman's name is Wanda. She is a "special" person in our small town. Mine was not a random act of kindness. Simply tossing money at a stranger is not necessarily helping them.

Here is another example of faith in action. You are walking down the street and see someone who is very cold. Faith calls you to give your coat to that person even though you know you do not have another one at home, and no way to get one. Faith is raising money for choir robes when your church doesn't have a choir, but you believe God wants one. Faith is giving your guitar to someone who needs one for the ministry, knowing you do not have another and cannot afford to replace it. You are not walking in faith if you give and have another coat or guitar. That is charity. If you give what you cannot replace, you have faith that God will take care of you and it takes real faith to give what you do not have.

Faith is not always shown by giving. Faith is shown by living. When we see our lives crumble around us and there seems no way out of the mess we are in, faith is the ability to put one foot in front of the other, without laying down for a private pity party. If you have lost your job and the bank is going to repossess your car, faith is changing the oil in the car because it's time to do so. Faith is driving that car to job interviews even though the next paycheck you get will come too late to make a car payment. Faith is staying on a long-distance call, testifying to someone, when you know you probably won't be able to pay your phone bill. Faith is moving forward when your path appears to be blocked. Faith isn't finding a way out of your problems. Faith is finding God's way through them. There is obviously a difference between faith and charity. That's why they are listed as different fruits of the spirit. You do have fruit, don't you?

Some say, "The Lord helps those who help themselves," which is not scriptural. The Lord helps those who cannot help themselves. The Lord also helps those who think they can help themselves, but trust Him to do a better job. Faith is living beyond your ability and living in God's ability. In faith, you give because someone needs what you have even though you need it too. You might even think you need it more.

When you give all that you have because you know someone has a need, don't do it expecting God to bless you. If you do, then your gift has strings attached and that is not charity or faith. That act of giving is an act of extortion. When you give, don't expect to ever see a blessing for your act of charity. However, when you move forward in faith, expect to see the obstacles removed. The obstacles may only be moved a little with each step you take, but they will be moved. God does His part, but you have to do yours. That's not the same as saying "God helps those who help themselves." That's saying God helps those who have faith in Him because they cannot do it alone. If you can help yourself, you don't need God, do you? Faith is moving forward when there is no possible way you can succeed.

There is a catch. You knew there would be, didn't you? The catch is, you must, must, must be walking where God wants you to walk or be ready to do so. Read that last sentence again. Let's revisit the example of the car that will soon be repossessed. If that car is a Porsche or Lexus, you may have a good reason to pray "God, if it is your will that I keep this car..." You may have gotten yourself in over your head without His leading. Are you willing to get rid of that car to be closer to the Lord? If not, well you just might be in for a lesson. Walk and live close to God and you will have no reason to say, "If it is you will, Lord..." You will know God's will.

John 10:3-5

10:3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.
10:5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger's voice.

If you don't know God's will for your life, you aren't listening! He calls you by name. He leads the way for you. If you can't find your way, get closer to God. You are too far away to hear what He is saying to you.

I have said, "Faith is not the ability to overcome obstacles in your path. Faith is the ability to see your path without obstacles" because the obstacles are not your concern when you are walking with God. They do not exist in your reality. You cannot walk in faith if you are not walking with God and you cannot walk with God without walking in faith. You either trust God to take care of you or you don't. Your life is a testimony of your faith or lack of it. If you see someone walking in faith, you know they love and trust the Lord, don't you? Consequently, if people do not see you walking in faith, they know you don't trust God, right?

When was the last time you emptied your wallet for the glory of God? I mean REALLY emptied your wallet, and didn't hold anything back. When is the last time you kept moving forward, convinced you were on the path God called you to walk, even thought it was absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for you to succeed? If you cannot or will not do this, you will never please God.

Getting started walking in faith isn't easy. In fact, it can be quite unsettling. Forget everything you knew about taking care of things on your own. Of course, you will keep your job (we can hope) and your bills will not miraculously disappear. In fact, God might take the hardships and ratchet them up a bit to see if you mean business. Stress follows because the old flesh isn't as dead as you thought. Then comes the doubt and fear and soon, you will feel like a total failure because your faith isn't nearly as strong as you once professed. Sure, you used to pray long and loud for God to care for those you saw in need, but now it's y-o-u who needs to show a bit of faith. Things aren't so simple anymore and you wished you hadn't been so quick to quote those faith scriptures to others. It's show-time and you can't remember your lines. In fact, you can't even get into character, let alone perform for the standing-room-only crowd that has gathered to see your new reality show called "I'm Living By Faith".

You cannot muster faith using will-power or positive thinking you learned in self-help seminars. The Robert Schuller books gaze powerlessly at you from the bookshelf. You are alone with God. Your prayers vacillate between "God will make a way" and "Father help my unbelief." You try to maintain a strong, spiritual persona, but inside, you are terrified. This is only the first test of your faith. One of your Christian friends smiles and says, "It's exciting to see God working in your life" and you want to choke him with your bare hands. Then you realize he has never been where you are. He doesn't know what it is like to trust God. He only has head knowledge and no heart knowledge. A small voice urges you to show mercy because this poor soul has no idea what he is saying.

Somewhere, barely perceptible in the din of the chaos that rages around you, a voice whispers, "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you." Tears fill your eyes as you recognize the voice. It's been so long since you heard Him speak. Somehow, you know He is taking care of you and you are no longer afraid because His voice brings peace. Now you understand John 10:4.

People are too afraid to step out in faith for much of anything. Why would anyone leave their comfortable life for the unknown? Hebrews 11:6, that's why.

How do I know all this? This is where I live. Yes, there are times I feel like a spiritual failure and my faith is weak. I pray for the Lord to forgive me and then I hear, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." The Lord sure must be strong in me then. Since my wife and I began our walk in we have learned mercy. We have learned to be merciful to those who haven't a clue what living by faith means. Lately, we are learning more about grace. For years, I was able to tell you "grace is unmerited favor" and thought I had a handle on it. We were saved my grace, but we also live by grace every day of our lives. We don't deserve anything at all, even in this world. We don't deserve one single blessing God gives us. When you step out in faith, you realize those blessings are intentional. There is nothing random about them. Every one is personally created and presented. You also become painfully aware of your inadequacies and come to realize there is no other way you can live, but by faith. I can't imagine depending on myself to take care of my life again. Trust me, God does a much better job.

Years ago, Lanny Wolfe recorded a song entitled "Whatever It Takes." I loved it then and I understand it now. That song came back to me recently, while I was going through a "down" time. God reminded me I had asked Him to do whatever it takes to draw me close to Him. Even though life is sometimes less than comfortable, I do not regret that prayer. I only wish I had meant it earlier in life.

Read the words to the song and see if you are willing to pray them to God.


Whatever It Takes
Lanny Wolfe

There's a voice calling me
From an old rugged tree
And His whispers draw closer to me
Leave this world far behind
There are new heights to climb
And a new place in me you will find

chorus
For whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord
That's what I'll be willing to do
For whatever it takes to be more like you
That's what I'll be willing to do

verse 2
Take the dearest things to me
If that's how it must be
To draw me closer to thee
Let the disappointments come
Lonely days without the sun
If through sorrow more like you I become

chorus
For whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord
That's what I'll be willing to do
For whatever it takes to be more like you
That's what I'll be willing to do

verse 3
Take my houses my lands,
change my dreams, change my plans
for I'm placing my whole life in your hands
and if you call me today...
to a place far away
Lord I'll go, and your will I'll obey.

(repeat chorus)

bridge
I'll trade sunshine for rain
Comfort for pain
That's what I'll be willing to do
For whatever it takes for my will to break
That's what I'll be willing to do

tag:
That's what I'll be willing to do


The lines about houses and land is a tough one isn't it? Matthew 19:29 Look it up.
How about the line that says "I'll trade sunshine for rain, comfort for pain"? That's a tough one too.
Then, the line of surrender, "for whatever it takes for my will to break, that's what I'll be willing to do."

You will have disappointments. I guarantee there will be "lonely days without the sun." God will be there and you will know it. Your thoughts will become your prayers. Your walk with God will be the most important thing in your life. Nothing else matters.

You can say you walk with God, but do you KNOW you walk with God? Enoch walked with God and he was not because God took Him (Genesis 5:24). That's where I want to be in Him.

So if you see me one day and not the next, I pray it is because I am walking that close to the God of creation.


- Rod
Copyright © 2004 Rod

Note: (I hate writing these notes) Before anyone writes to me, chastising me for the comment I made about the Porsche and Lexus, subtract the retail value of a small, used car, from the retail value of a luxury or sports car. Now figure out how many hungry people you can feed with the difference. If you can justify not feeding them because you want to look good and feel good in that fancy car, read 1 John 2:15-16. If you can still spiritually brow beat me after doing that, then be my guest.



Some things that may affect your results.

James 4:2-3
4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask;
4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

James 4:6-9
4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.'
4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.
4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.
4:9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.
4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Habakkuk 2:4
2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion,
but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.

Romans 12:3
12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.