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Focus on Faith

by Jean Bradley

As Christians we are told that we must have faith, but what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’. So that means that even when we do not see something with our natural eyes, we must believe, without doubt, that we will have it because it is something that God promised us. This is so different to what we learned in the world. The world only believes something when they see it.

When we are born again, when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, we crossed over from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light (or Heaven) and at the same time our spirit became renewed and the Bible says that we were given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Therefore, because God gave us each a measure of faith, He gave us the ability to have faith and to believe Him and His promises.

God never requires anything from us that He hasn’t given us exactly what we need to fulfil it. I believe that faith, as well as every other gift that God gives His children, is firstly supernatural, and secondly, it is like muscles in our bodies in that the more we use them, the more they grow and expand. Therefore, when we believe God for something our spiritual eyes can see it, even though we don’t yet see it in the natural.

We are told that as Christians we must have faith to please God.

Hebrews 11:6 says ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him’.

Again, when we became newborn Christians, it was a transaction paid for by Jesus Christ when He gave His Life for us on the cross in our place. Jesus died for us because He loves us, which tells me that this was not a business transaction, although payment was required for us, but we were brought into a family–the family of God. This means that we have a relationship with God our Father, through Jesus Christ.

Now Hebrews 11:6 makes sense. We must build and grow our relationship with God, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. It is like any relationship, the more time we spend with that person, whether it is our husband or wife, family or a friend, the better we will get to know them and our trust will grow. We will know what they like and what they don’t, and we will find things in common and learn to be vulnerable and open with them.

This is the same with our relationship with God.

We grow in our relationship with Him by praying, which is talking with Him, and reading our Bible, which tells us about Him–what He likes and what He doesn’t like. He is God and He is Mighty, but He is also our Heavenly Father, who wants a relationship with us. It is through this relationship that we are able to trust Him and His Word. Our relationship with Him makes it easier for us to believe Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 says ‘God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful’. What an encouraging verse!

Let’s Pray Together:

Father God, we come to You in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You Father for loving us and for making a way for us to come into a full, rich relationship with You. Father, please help us to grow in our faith and our trust, so that we will have no doubt that Your words and Your promises are true. Thank you for taking our hand and walking with us step-by-step in this process. We love You, Lord. Thank You for loving us first. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

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