Faith

Everything in the Bible does not make any sense to the natural mind.  It is utter foolishness.

Some may feel hypocritical for believing in Jesus for material blessings. Yet to believe in Him for anything is concrete proof of having received the gift of faith.

What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that it is this: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." [NIV].

We have never seen Jesus the Man in person.  We did not witness His resurrection. All we have is the Word. Yet in the absence of any hard and solid physical evidence, we believe in something or someone we do not see. That calls for faith.

How did the young boy David have so much faith in God to deliver him from the 9-footer Goliath?  David had been exercising his muscle of faith in God Who delivered him from the bear and lion.

1 Samuel 17:32-37

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Faith is like a muscle.  It grows with exercise.

He Who is faithful with little will also be faithful with much. [Luke 16:10, NASB].

When we exercise our muscle of faith in Jesus to take care of the small things, that muscle of faith will grow to believe in Him for big things. It is like weightlifting. We start light and then progress to heavier weights with constant training.  Waiting for the Lord is that training.  My problem is that I want to lift 100 kg of weights when I can barely manage ten.

It is a process of letting go and letting God. When I believe to see Jesus coming through in the small things, I will begin to believe in Him coming through with the big things.

I believe. He delivers.

Therefore, continue in the faith.[Colossians 1:23].  Fight the good fight of faith. [1 Timothy 6:12]. Let not the cares and worries of the world steal the word from me.[Matthew 13:18-23]. Read the Bible for scriptures says that it is written for teaching and encouraging me. [Romans 15:4]. Be encouraged by the cloud of witnesses that were before me as recorded in the Bible. [Hebrews 12:1].

I am reminded that God spared not even His only Beloved Son but gave Him up to die for me. So I can be assured that if anything is good for me to have at any given point in time, He would have given it to me before I even ask Him. Just like He has given me Jesus even before I realized I needed Him.

With that, the seed of faith that is planted in me will grow  into a sturdy cedar tree.  Hence, I am planted like a tree by streams of water,  which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever I do prospers.  [Psalm 1:3].

A thought came flashing through my mind; "Don't delude yourself! What prosper?!? Just look at the kind of results you have right now. You call that a success?!?"

I am reminded again of Joseph.  When he was still a slave, God declared him a successful man. What was the basis for that declaration? God was with him. [Genesis 39:2]. Today, God is not only WITH me, He is FOR me [Romans 8:31] and He lives IN me [1John 4:4].

Trusting or believing in Christ Jesus is a gift. The Bible says that we are in Him only because of God [1 Corinthians 1:30]. During His earthly ministry, Jesus Himself said that no one can come to Him except through the Father (God) [John 6:44]. Again Jesus said that I did not choose Him but He chose me. [John 15:16].

There is no logical explanation for having faith in Jesus. It is a gift from God.

A part of me says, "Com'on, give yourself some credit for believing!" 1 Corinthians 1:31 says, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” My Lord Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of faith. [Hebrews 12:2].

Amen!