HAVING
FAITH
A lot of individuals have
an idea of what faith is. They’ve gone to church at some point in their life or they attended Sunday
school when they were younger. These individuals feel they have a good handle on the “faith thing”.
And then there are those individuals who truly know what faith is. They have experienced it and
know what it’s like when God brings them through a tough situation. For the purpose of this message
and for those who just have an idea, let’s first go over the definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 states
“now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” So that’s
it! Now we know the true meaning of faith based on the biblical description given here in Hebrews.
Right? We now have what it takes to go about our lives knowing this important piece of information.
If you say yes then you should keep reading. And if you say no……..keep reading anyway!
Knowing the definition of faith is basically having an understanding of faith; which equates to someone
having an idea about what faith is. Don’t get me wrong, having an understanding gives us the knowledge
we need during our times of ups and downs, but that’s not the whole piece. There are three pieces
to having faith. The first piece is what we went over, the knowledge and understanding of what faith is.
The second piece we must have is the belief in faith. We gotta believe in it.
Think about it, if you were about to play a game of basketball and you didn’t believe that you could win, then
what’s the point of playing the game in the first place? Having belief in faith is not about the
understanding of the word but rather having belief in Jesus Christ. 1 Samuel 12:24a says “but be
sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart.” You see having an understanding
relates to your mind and how you think. The belief in faith is what rests in your heart. You
may say all the right things but your heart determines who you truly are. Therefore, having the understanding
of faith isn’t enough you must believe it in your heart.
So, now that you have an understanding of what faith is and you believe it in your heart what is the final piece?
This final piece is what a lot of people fail to do in their walk for Christ. The final piece is
to live by faith. Living by faith is the part that people miss because it involves action.
Let’s go back to the basketball game. You have a belief that you can win the game but you
lack the confidence that goes with it. Your head is down and your shoulders are slouched over.
You don’t show the confidence in your belief that you can win the game. If you truly believe
in faith then it should show by how you live your life. Romans 1:17 says “for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” When the enemy
sees your lack of confidence he will exploit your weakness until he puts doubt in your belief. Once there
is doubt in your belief then you begin to question your understanding of faith. Now your knowledge of faith
is shattered because you failed to live by it.
Now herein lies the complete knowledge of faith once all three pieces are in place. Having faith
is not about you! Having faith is not about God fixing the things that are wrong in your life so that He
makes it all better. No! Having faith is believing in God’s will. Having faith
is believing in His plan for your life no matter what comes your way. Having faith is believing that when
the darkness comes, Jesus will always be there for you. Having faith is believing that in the end we will
have the victory through Jesus Christ. As it says in Romans 8:37 that “nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” So don’t just have an understanding of
faith, but have the understanding, the belief and live by faith. Because “we know that all things
work together for good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans
8:28.
