The Power of Faith

There are many things that we already have “faith” in; such as a chair will keep you lifted up right off that floor and we have faith that it will continue to do so and not break apart. 

Faith is so much more and as we dive deeper into the heart of Christianity, we find the definition “Faith is a firm, cordial belief in the veracity of God, in all the declarations of His word; or a full and affectionate confidence in the certainty of those things which God has declared, and because He has declared them.” 

[Heb 11:1 NIV] 

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

[2Co 5:7 NIV] 

7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 

People of this world have a hard time believing in God. If there were a good God, why is there so much suffering?”  Why didn’t God create a world without suffering? Well, He did! Man messed it up….God didn’t. 

The word “suffer” means to “stay under”. To suffer means to finish your goal even when you experience adversity. This is a very interesting concept – to “finish your goal” even thru suffering. 

You have to walk thru it to get to the other side. 

We demand to understand why everything happens in our lives but sometimes suffering can seem pretty random. There are a lot of mysteries hidden in God and He is not going to give you all the answers.

[1Co 13:12-13 NLT] 

 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. 

God doesn’t want to hear all the “whys”, but instead, He wants to hear “I trust you, God. Even when I don’t understand what is happening, I trust you to work it out for my good. I will keep my eyes on you.”

[Prov 3:5-6 NIV] 

 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

As we learn to trust God, the power of our faith grows and we can see God’s will in our lives more clearly. The decisions and consequences we make daily will always be a teaching moment for God, whether we suffer the consequences, or turn and seek God’s will in our lives. When we place our trust in God and seek His will in our lives, we also learn a great deal about who we are in Christ. And when bad things happen, God doesn’t always get you out of it, but He will give you grace to get through it. 

[2Co 12:9 NIV] 

 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 

During hard times, you can either give in and give up, or you can allow your faith and trust in God to grow stronger. Our love and compassion for others takes on a whole new meaning when we face life issues. God will allow us to go thru things that He could deliver us from, just so He could use you to deliver other people from that same thing. Do not give up when it’s hard. 

Half of the scriptures are about God delivering us from suffering and not one of those says “when”. 

[Psa 34:19 NIV] 

 19 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 

Faith dispels fear and worry. Fear is a liar and it leads you to forget all that God has done in your life. Fear makes you think that you are all alone and the oppressive spirit of fear seems to be the dominate emotion of this day and age. The Bible tells us that fear is not just an emotion or feeling, but an actual spirit that manipulates and operates in many people’s lives [2 Timothy 1:7]. This is why you find so many people constantly worried. We need to be guarded so we do not allow fear to creep into our lives.

Anxiety and stress are both the children of fear and it destroys our bodies, our soul and our minds. The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we do not need to fear. We have not been given a spirit of fear for our hope rests in Jesus Christ, our defender and our sustainer. He is sovereign and He is always in control. 

[Jhn 16:33 NIV] 

33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 

We don’t know our future, but God is already there. 

As the world continues to groan and the nearness of Jesus’ return comes closer, others are looking at Christians. How are they responding? Remember how Paul’s faith touched others during his suffering in prison [Acts 16:25 ]. The world needs to see something other than cowards. They need to see people that will stand up and not run away from every hard place in life, but will say that in the midst of all their trouble, 

God is good & I trust Him & I love Him & He will bring me out of this & I will have victory in my life. 

[Rom 5:1-2 NIV] 

 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 

God knows what you are going thru today. He knows your pain and every tear He holds in His hand. You just need to invite Him into your situation. 

 

Blessings to you my friend ~