Got Faith?

If you're reading TFTD, chances are you are a 'person of faith.' But what does that mean, anyway? Is faith, "thinking positively?" No. Is faith, "having a good feeling" about something? No! The famous line of Scripture from Hebrews tells us that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (11:1) Faith causes us to choose God's way even when that path is difficult, calls for self-denial, and/or leads us into conflict with prevailing wisdom. Why? Because faith connects this transitory world with the eternal, giving us a reason to obey God.

Faith can be very dangerous if it is not set in the context of submission to God. Some people express a self-fueled faith. They may quote promises from the Bible and appear outwardly to be living a faith-life. However, if you press them, you will discover they are using 'faith language' to force their own agenda. They try to make God act in ways they desire by throwing Bible verses in His face! God didn't give us the promises of the Bible so we could find a phrase, seize on it, and then 'make Him do what we want.' He gave us the promises of the Scripture so we would trust Him and submit ourselves to Him.

Take forgiveness as an example. Extending forgiveness can hard, right? A person told me recently, "If you knew my mother-in-law, you wouldn't ask me to forgive her. She's mean and controlling." I responded, "I'm not asking you to forgive her, God is demanding that you do so." This person was honest enough to say, "Well, I'm just not there!" We then talked about faith that causes us to be obedient - even when we can't see why we would even want to be. I cautioned that person about forgiving with the idea - "OK, if I forgive her, then she will change." Maybe she won't! Forgive because it is the command of God, because faith gives you the vision to see beyond yourself, your own comfort. Obedience is in trusting God's wisdom - a form of faith.

Faith frees us from the need to demand a certain outcome in life. Often walking the path of faith takes us into the unknown, pointing us in the direction where the road disappears into the fog! As Abraham led his beloved son, Isaac, along the road to Mt. Moriah, where God had directed him to sacrifice his only true heir, he could not see what was going to happen. "It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac." (Hebrews 11:17, NLT) The trip would have been easy IF the patriarch had known that a substitutionary ram would be presented, but he didn't until he obeyed and went all the way to the point of building the altar and laying his son on it. Then, God gave him his son back!

A 'faith' that demands miracles, that requires lists of 'answered prayers,' that is built around 'see I told you He is real' testimonies is shallow faith, focused on results rather than on God's rule and purpose. Faith that steadily trusts God even when life is dark, in the middle of uncertainty, in the fog of confusion is the kind of faith that I desire and admire. I know that not everyone who has real faith gets healed of their cancer, raises kids that are saints, or keeps their job when the economy goes bad! Faith is not a pass on the suffering of life in this fallen world. Faith is the connection to God that keeps us from hopelessness and despair those kinds of situations. It is what let's us keep trusting Him, obeying Him, when we look like a fool for doing so.

The writer of Hebrews points out the apparent 'failure' of the faith of some who did not enjoy a victorious outcome! He says,
"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.
They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:35-40, NIV)

Got faith? Make sure it is a faith in God, not a faith in faith!
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All things work for our good,
Though sometimes we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth,
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim,
And you just can't see Him,
Remember, you're never alone,

He sees the master plan.
He holds the future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope;
All our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly,
But He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry,
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

Title: Trust His Heart
Author: Carswell, Eddie / Mason, Babbie
Copyright: 1989 Dayspring Music, Inc.