How Do You Stay in Faith?

Faith, we hear about it so much in sermons, but how much time do we really spend thinking about it?  What about when it doesn't seem to be working?

Faith is not something that is preached as hard, requiring extraordinary diligence, or that will keep us under pressure or in need of a special impartation from God, but sometimes it does.

Think about a couple of heroes of faith, Abraham and Joseph.

Abraham is considered the "father of faith."  He, along with his darling wife, Sarah, were to be the people God would use to change the history of the world.  The fruit of their faith is still here for us to see, the nation of Israel.  But their faith was sorely tested, forcing them to stand in the face of certain failure, tested for 25 years.  And they were found faithful.  But how did they do it?

Our second example of one who stood in faith in the face of adversity is Joseph.  Called by God as a lad, he saw the destiny that was mapped out for him by God.  He experienced a life journey that looked nothing like the destiny God has set before him.  From the time he is sold into slavery as a lad until he stands before Pharaoh as Prime Minister is estimated to be more than 15 years.  Challenged by family rejection, slavery, false criminal accusations, people who failed to come through on their promises, and a lengthy imprisonment, Joseph was still able to see the destiny ordained by God come to manifestation.  How did he stay in faith through the trials?

Both Abraham and Joseph began their faith odyssey with a simple utterance from the heart of the Father they would come to love and trust.  Abraham had no history on which to base his trust, no, just his willingness to take God at His word.  Joseph had heard the testimony of God's faithfulness to his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, but he himself had not experienced such fidelity for himself, but he had a vision imparted to him from the Father's heart, a vision that would sustain him through the trials.

One word from God is enough for those who believe, for, you see, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)  Faith is the stuff of the unseen world, the material that we use to build our hopes and dreams, hopes and dreams inspired by something God has spoken into our heart. (Heb. 11:1-6) The reason we can stand is that the Word from God is more real to us than the things we see.  We cannot consider another course, another outcome because, like Sarah, we "count Him faithful Who promised." (Heb. 11:11)

In the face of adversity we can say, "This isn't how this ends, I know, I have heard from God and He never lies. (Num. 23:19) I'm not worried about what it looks like, I know the end; I have God's Word on it."  No matter what the circumstance. symptoms, or feasibility of what God has said, He said it, and that is enough.

How do we stand, by standing, not in our own strength and power, but in the power, strength, and ability of God Himself. (Eph. 6:10-18) The Word is clear, for those who are "justified," the "redeemed," faith is our way of life. (Hab. 2:4, Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, Heb. 10:38)  The life of faith affects everything we do.  We see it in the lives of those who have gone on before, those who have been championed by God throughout history.

We see the testimony of those who have gone before, and we glorify God for their victories, their ability to stand in the face of adversity and win.  Now it is our turn.  Let us grab on to the Word God has spoken to us, the vision He has placed in our hearts, and, as Paul said, "run the race with confidence, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith." (Heb. 12:2)

Say What You See - OR - See What You Say?

Faith is a force that operates in the realm of the unseen - and so does fear.  What then do we do with the things we see?  We know what the Word says,

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)

So, if faith is the stuff the invisible is made of, what should we be doing with what we can see?  Maybe a better question is, what should we do with faith?  How do we get the unseen into the realm of the seen?

This is the heart of the Christian life.  For instance, salvation is a commodity from the realm of the unseen.  We cannot see it, cannot touch it, and have no way of making it real, or do we?  If we have no way of "seeing" our salvation, how can we know we are saved?  The Word is clear about what we are supposed to do to see the object of our faith manifest.

^6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ^7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ^8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ^9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ^10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ^11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ^12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ^13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:6-13)

Do you see it?  There is a direct connection from the unseen to the seen that runs through our heart and mouth.  It is no surprise that we see the link between the heart and mouth, after all, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Matt. 12:34)  So your ability to see the unseen is found in what comes out of your mouth.

Faith has to make a decision when it sees things that are not in agreement with the truth of the Word.  You can say what you see or you can say what the Word says.  You can agree with the circumstances or you can agree with the Word.  Faith says what is true in the unseen even though it seems ridiculous.

^22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ^23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."  (Mk 11:22-23)

The answer to the question, say what you know to be true in the Word and you will see what you say.

Promises, Judgment, and Our Hope of Blessing

The life we live, the experiences we go through, and the truth of the word all come into conflict on a regular basis.  Why is it seemingly so difficult to see what the Word promises manifest in the life of the believer?

The Word is clear, "For all the promises of God in Him are 'Yes,' and in Him, 'Amen,' to the glory of God through us." (2 Cor. 1:20 NKJV) Every promise is meant to be manifest in the lives of those who are in Christ.  That is a tall order, and yet it is true.  "So why aren't we seeing the promises of God manifest?" you ask.  The reality is, you are.

• God promises blessing for those who are willingly obedient. (Isa. 1:19) But doing the right thing for the wrong reason brings no reward.  As a matter of fact, those who refuse and rebel are promised discipline. (Isiah 1:20)
  
• Adherents to the Word of God are promised wonderful things. (Deut. 28:1-14) But those who are disobedient, refusing and rebelling against God's Word, brings the promise of stiff penalty. (Deut. 28:15-68)
• God is the "Good Giver" of good and perfect gifts. (James 1:17) But He is also the Righteous Judge who will not hesitate to mete out judgment to those who deserve it. (Rev. 22:12)

The Word is full of promises, more than 3,000 by some counts, and with almost every promise is a condition by which the promise must be appropriated.  From Cain's promise of acceptance "if you do well" (Genesis 4:7) to the promise of judgment to the church at Sardis if they did not repent and watch for His coming (Rev.3:3,) we see that every promise has a God-part and a man-part.  Blessings flow freely from God when we do what He asks of us, and judgment comes as we do what God has outlined as deserving judgment.

As you look at your life, know that it is a reflection of your conformity to the requirements God puts on us.  If you are not seeing the blessings of God manifest to you, it's time to go back to the Word and find out why.  Remember the injunction of 2 Tim. 2:15.

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

The Word holds the answer to your situation, dig in, get into the Word, let the Word get into you, and, I promise, the Word will make a huge difference in your life.

Got a specific question?  Post it and we'll address it.

Original Intent

If you listen to some preachers you'd think that is was God's will that everyone would be poor and pathetic.  I am not sure how we got here from where man began.

In the Garden we see God's perfect will for Man.  God tailor made a place for the man He created.  Look at what He built.

• A lush, plush tropical garden paradise
• An abundance of precious metals and gems
• More food than he could consume in his lifetime
• Full employment with everything he needed to do all that was expected of him
• His own zooalogical park
• A simple legal system with only one law
• A soulmate designed for his every need
• A no-brainer wardrobe
• And an unhindered, unlimited inteaction with the Creator

How far man has fallen ... but we need not stay down.

God has given us who are believers some pretty awesome promises.  There are so many I don't have room to list them all here, but all of them are promises of good things that have been given to "the righteous."  Look at this,

"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God" - 2 Cor. 1:20 NKJV

Whatever your need, find a promise that applies, put faith to it, and watch what God will do.  You will find out that you are living way below what God has for you.

God wants to prosper you so that you, like Adam, can accomplish all He has for you.  Go on, live large in Him, and change your world to the glory of God.