What Is Faith?

What is faith anyway? Faith asks us to forgo what we see, think and feel. Faith is the opposite of sight.

“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1)

Many people pray to the Lord, knowing He can help them because He is all powerful, but when He doesn’t act immediately they give up. This impatient attitude along with taking matters back into our own hands, is a lack of faith. God never said: God helps those who help themselves.

Faith To Obey Leads To Blessings

  “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.”( Luke 11:28)

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”(Josh 1:8)

The story of Daniel in the lions den is a wonderful example of true faith.

At that time in history, there was a law forbidding people from worshipping anyone other than King Darius. The extreme consequence of worshipping anyone other than the King was to be thrown into a den full of hungry lions.

Daniel was a faithful servant of God and he refused to pay homage to anyone other than the Lord, therefore he continued to pray to the Lord three times a day.

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…”(Ex 20:3-5a)

That is the second Commandment in the Holy Bible.

Unfortunately, King Darius was made aware of Daniel’s three time a day habit of bowing down and worshiping the Lord. Therefore King Darius had no other choice but to follow his own order and have Daniel be subject to the den full of hungry lions.

But, when you are a follower of the Lord you are protected and we can be assured that we will overcome every evil formed against us.

The Bible states: “no weapon formed against you will prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17)

God saw Daniel’s extreme faith over fear of consequences and Daniel’s faith was rewarded. The Lord shut the mouths of the hungry lions and Daniel was spared.

The King was so shocked that Daniel was ignored by the hungry lions that he was certain Daniel’s God saved him. Therefore he ordered everyone in his kingdom to worship the God of Daniel.

 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
His Kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.(Dan 6:26-28)

Faith To Follow The Lord Leads To Protection

So what does this mean for us? This is an excellent story about the blessings we receive for being an obedient Christian.

There is quite a difference between simply believing Jesus Christ exists and being a follower of His teachings. Those that follow the Lord receive countless promised blessings. Acknowledging Christ yet choosing to live life any way we please, makes us unprotected in this life. It’s God’s choice to protect us or not if we are rebelling against Him. If we choose to do things His way- even when we aren’t perfect- God will work out our life for Good because we honor Him and do His will.

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

If we end up changing our mind at some point in life, and make the choice to go beyond simply believing Jesus walked the earth, but follow His holy way of life – the Lord joyfully welcomes us into His Kingdom. He will pull us out of the pit of confusion and destruction that we dug for ourselves.

After our conversion to be born spiritually, the Lord promises that He has already forgiven us from past, present and future sin and we will still spend eternity in heaven.

“There is no condemnation for those who are In Christ.” (Romans 8:1)

We will have to endure the consequence from prior sins committed, but God can work those out for our good.

“And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”(Romans 8:38)

When we worship anything other than the Lord, we miss out on blessings. If we listen to our “call” to live according to His purpose, we will have a life that fits together beautifully.

How do we know if we are worshipping something/someone more than the Lord? Let’s ask ourselves a few questions:

Do we work in a job that requires us to lie or fudge numbers for the company? Or, do we lie in court for our client in order to win cases? Do we put our family second in the name of ministry? All of these behaviors point out that we worship other things.

God’s ways are perfect and they lead us to a life of joy, peace and stable relationships.

The Lord is joyfully waiting for us to fully trust Him and His guiding ways. Our faith in God without sight- without assurance that we will be okay- is the act that makes the Lord move on our behalf.

Matthew 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you. And the woman was cured from that very hour.“

Matthew 9:29  “Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith it will be done to you.”

John 4:50 “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed.“

Malachi 3:10. “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, test me in this says the Lord almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you so much blessing there will not be room enough to store it.”

Submit yourself to the Lord, trust in God for provision, for help and healing all aspects of life- He is our Creator and desires the best for us. Therefore, in doing this we have attached ourselves to the vine and the Holy Spirit’s power can flow into our clean, submitted lives.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.”(Jer 29:11)

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”

Faith in God will never fail; He protects and provides for His obedient followers.

Food For Thought,

Lisa

This link brings you to my favorite Bible with excellent teaching points. Click here