O God of Faith, to me two words describe the nature of faith … sure and certain. I believe this because faith gives me the assurance that the things I hope for are not in vain. And, I believe it is certain because my faith enables me to see the things I pray for accomplished before I can see the results with my natural eyes. Faith is the inner voice telling me that what You promised is true and it will happen. My past experiences help to undergird my belief that what I ask for will actually occur. In part, my faith is based on Your character … that is, You are who You say You are. And, it is also based on the fact that You are truthful … that is, You will do what You say You will do. When I can believe what You say is true … even when I cannot see it materializing … I am acting by faith. Your Word declares that You created the earth … I was not there to see it … but by faith I believe it happened.
In Your desire to be fair to all men, You gave us each the same measure of faith. Like a seed, it was planted within every human heart and it is up to each of us to cultivate it and help it to grow. It must be nourished by love for You, watered by the fountain of life given to us by the Spirit and stimulated to grow in the light of Your Word. Faith is like a muscle that is built up by lifting the weight of trials and tribulations. As I win my battles with it, I become stronger and more pleasing to You. Faith is the tool You have given me to use in achieving and overcoming. When I stand on Your Word, my life becomes unshakable and I can withstand whatever comes upon me. Faith acts as both a shield and a breastplate to ward off the fiery darts of my enemies and cover my heart so it does not get hurt. By faith, I make my stand with You each day.
I now understand that faith is my conscious decision to believe what You tell me. It gives me no right to judge whether what You say is believable or not … even if I cannot see its fulfillment with my natural eyes. As a human, I want to judge things based on what I see. However, as a spiritual being, I must judge based on spiritual things … like Your character and fidelity. By reading Your Word, I’m learning a lot about faith: No faith, no salvation; no faith, no freedom from fear; no faith, no healing; a small amount does great things; faith without works is dead; without faith it is impossible to please You. I know that my faith will be tried and I am to fight the good fight of faith if I am going to be victorious. I am learning to stand by faith, live by faith and build my life on faith. I know I will be the person You want me to become if I live by faith. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
II Corinthians 5:7 We live by faith and not by sight.