By Scott Gegan
“Faith” is the substance of things we hope for and the evidence of things we don’t see. (Hebrews 11:1). When we finally see something that we had hoped to see, we now don’t need faith, because we have seen it.
But what about the time before we saw it? What was the posture of our heart and mind while we are waiting to see it?
When I buy something from Amazon these days, the first thing that I look for is the delivery timeline. Once I know when it will be delivered to me, I begin to hope for the package to arrive on that date. Now, if I have other commitments and can’t be at home for the delivery, I may make adjustments to those commitments in order for me to be at home for the delivery.
These adjustments are an exercise of Faith. I am adjusting my schedule, (the substance) for something that I hope for. These adjustments to my calendar are the evidence of something that I don’t yet see but hope for – namely, a delivery time that has been promised to me from Amazon.
Once it arrives & I receive the item that I ordered, I no longer need faith because I have received it.
The time between me placing my order, the activities I do to prepare for its arrival and then eventually receiving it, is a time when I practice or exercise “Faith”.
We do this all the time, in every area of life. A farmer will prepare his field and plant his crop, by faith. An entrepreneur will invest money, set up a business account at the bank, get licensed and begin gathering customers, by faith. A student will burn the midnight oil studying and preparing for exams, by faith. A family will sign loan documents to purchase a new home, by faith. An employee will contribute to their company’s 401k plan or make other investments, by faith. People board airplanes, buses & trains to be transported in all directions, by faith. The musician practices for hours (possibly days or weeks) to learn a song so that they can share it with their friends, by faith.
Whether we are conscience of it or not, faith plays an important role in how we conduct our affairs throughout our lives. We take steps of faith, small and large, almost every day with the expectation that something good will come from our actions at some time in the future. So, faith is also by its nature, an optimistic step toward something beneficial in the future – “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things we don’t see”, for some good benefit in the future.
Jesus Christ has called us to place our faith and hope in Him, to believe in Him. Why?
Because He knows that when we do, God will impart and account our faith in Christ as Jesus’ own righteousness with God to us. Jesus’ perfect & sinless life, His death on the cross and glorious resurrection is “righteous” before God. When we believe in Jesus, when we say “Yes” to His good news of redemption in His Gospel and begin a life of following Him, we are beginning a life of “faith” in Jesus Christ that receives Jesus’ righteousness and eternal life from God Himself. Eternal life with and from God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And because Jesus Himself is the Author and Finisher of this faith that we walk in, we know that His promises are true and will surely come to pass. It will absolutely happen, because God does not/cannot lie.
So, what are we to do once we believe the promise of eternal life given by God in His Son Jesus Christ? How do we put this faith into action? How is our faith put into practice? What adjustments to my life should I make?
Prayer – We pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask Him for help, we confess our sins and disobedience against Him and ask Him for His forgiveness, we ask Him for healing, we ask Him for wisdom and understanding, we thank Him for all of the blessings that He has poured out upon us, we rejoice in Him and praise Him for the hope of eternal life with Him, we lift up others needs to Him for His blessings, we share all of our life with Him as our Father in Heaven with every sort of prayer and praise.
Repentance – We turn from our worldly ways and instead turn toward righteous ways of goodness, mercy, patience, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, self-control, faithfulness, peace, love and joy. We make these the hallmark and legacy of our lives.
Bible Study – Because of all that He has done for us, we want to know all about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we open our Bibles and prayerfully read and study what he has said, how He has instructed us to live, what promises He wants us to hold on to, what character He wants to develop in us. We drink in the Scriptures like they are living water, because they are.
Fellowship – We find others that love Jesus as we do and spend quality time with them in dear fellowship. Sharing the things God is doing in our lives, learning from others in their walk with Him, allowing others to pray for my needs and praying with them for theirs. Breaking bread, rubbing shoulders and lives with those God is blessing and being a blessing for them.
Service – We look for ways to serve the people that God has put into our lives. To be a blessing and a witness to them of the blessings of God. Jesus, the Son of God, did not come to be served but to serve others. He is our example so we lay down our lives in service to them. Caring for them, forgiving them, helping them, extending ourselves to them and assisting them in any way that we have in our abilities to do so.
This is how we practice Faith in Jesus Christ. We have received a great promise from Him that we believe. We take Him at His word. He has justified us before God by the blood of His cross and His resurrection from the dead. He has extended His righteousness and eternal life to us if we will but believe in Him.
Since we have now ended our disbelief and instead believed, we set our hope onto eternal life with God through Jesus Christ and walk by faith, in faith, until we see Him face to face (the delivery date).
Why? Because as God says, “The justified shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)