Down to Earth Faith

Coming back to our book study today in Victory Over the Darkness, I want to share 3 important facts about our everyday "faith". The author covers them so well, I'll take some passages and quotes from the book.
Each of these are aspects of our faith that maybe we are, or are not, aware of. I like breaking a concept down into the "nuts and bolts"; practical principles and ideas to help us get a better grasp of what "faith" really is.

1. Faith depends on it's object.


What happens when our faith in a person is shattered; a friendship, spouse, doctor, pastor? How do we react when someone we respect lets us down, or doesn't live up to our expectations? It can take years to re-build our faith in a person. It can hurt and scar us, and it can shatter our lives. I once had a pastor that said frequently that if we were looking to him as a faith object he would let us down. Guess what?...it didn't take long for that to happen. Men are men, and we all fail. So very true. We may not mean to let others down, sometimes through no fault of our own, sometimes because we lack character, but either way man in his humanity isn't a very reliable faith object.

God on the other hand, should be the source and foundation of our faith. This is where it becomes important to know God intimately. I've mentioned before how I was having faith about something and when it didn't happen when I thought it should, I was crushed. I felt like I couldn't trust God anymore. What I didn't know at that time, was that it wasn't God who had let me down. I didn't have all the facts and I had jumped to "faith conclusions". I learned a hard lesson about timing and attitude during that ordeal. It made me conscious about my faith being directed by and to God, and not the circumstance.

Version: NAS


Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and today, [yes] and forever.


Numbers 23:19
"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

The fact that God never changes and that He is constant, is the reason He is eminently trustworthy. He is the great "I Am", the Alpha and Omega, first and last for eternity.


"If you have little knowledge about God and His Word, you will have little faith. If you have great knowledge of God and His Word, you will have great faith".



2. The depth of your Faith is determined by the depth of your knowledge of the object.


When people struggle with their faith in God, it's not because their faith-object is insufficient. It's because people have unreal expectations of God. They expect Him to operate a certain way or answer prayer a certain way; their way, not His.



Romans 10:17
So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
 
And what does that mean?

Reading God's Word on a regular basis, letting it soak into your mind and heart. We won't have great faith if we don't read God's Word, the Bible. Participating in a Bible Study, daily Bible reading and prayer, Sunday School and church attendance. All these things should put us in a place to hear God's Word and meditate on it. This is foremost in our ability to have faith. We must hear and know what God is saying.


2 Peter 1:4
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of [the] divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

2 Corinthians 1:20
For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

There are many many promises in the Bible, it's up to us to know them. This is where one of the small pocket books will help, "Promises for You" by Zonderman is one such book, you can order it on-line or at almost any Christian book store. It shows us the promises and helps us pray back God's Word.
 
"Believing doesn't make God's Word true, His Word IS true, therefore I believe it."
 
3. Faith is an action word.
 
James 2: 17-18
17. Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, [being] by itself. 18. But someone may [well] say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

Matthew 14:25-31

25. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 28. And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29. And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Without action there really isn't any faith. We can talk all day long about how we have faith in God, but the true test comes when we are in a situation that we have to choose; "Do I trust God in this"? I don't want to be a Spiritual Couch Potato. Someone who sits around while things need to be done. We know that there are daily matters that just take our ability to believe God for good. And to allow Him to be in charge.

I'm going to throw out a little challenge; an exercise. Let God show you where you can trust and have faith in Him for a particular situation. Don't think of it as asking for trouble. Maybe it's something that you are dealing with right now. Just let God lead and direct your faith. He'll show you how if you will only ask!

More on faith next time. Remember, if God is nudging you leave a comment or question, please do. I love to hear them and so does everyone else!

love in Jesus'

Debra

concepts and quotes taken from
Chapter 6, Victory Over the Darkness
by Neil Anderson