What is going on everyone!! So, for this week, I want to talk about faith. Faith is a widely talked about topic in church, as well as in the religious communities as a whole, but I want to really dig into what faith is. I hear people ask, “Ryan, what is faith?” and, “what is the right kind of faith that I should have?” These are two very important questions, as they give insight to the perspective that I believe we should have regarding having faith.
For starters, Scripture says that, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). A big question would be what does this mean? Breaking it down, it means that faith is that “thing” that gives us hope that something that we don’t see happening will by some means happen. For example, when I was a kid, I asked for this certain bike for my birthday. It was a green BMX bike with pegs on all four wheels (major throwback). So when I woke up on my birthday, I had a hope (or a slight confidence) that I would get that bike for my birthday present. I did receive the bike, and what was at first not seen in the physical, became a tangible gift that I could enjoy.
Faith is sort of the same thing. Every day, we hope and have a faith that we will have a good day, and that good things will happen to us. That is the foundation of where I want to go with this. On the spiritual side, faith, for the most part, is the same thing. Where we run into trouble is when bad things start to happen, or we don’t receive the manifestation of what we are believing for. That is where faith becomes tested. What faith really looks like, is confidence during the struggles. Faith should say, “Lord, things are not looking so good right now, but I am believing and trusting that because you only give me good things, that your plans will be revealed and you will continue to grow me, even if I don’t see that thing happening right now”. That is the perspective we should have when it comes to faith.
Faith does not look past hardships. Rather, it looks right in the face of hardships and says, “my God has conquered death, so because that same Spirit lives in me, I will overcome this too”. Faith is a boldness and a confidence that the will of God will be fulfilled even in the midst of trial. In our lives, not every day is bright and dandy. The powerful twist to that is, is that even in those gloomy days, we still have that faith that things will change, and that whatever we are believing for will come to pass in Jesus name. Take time in the word and prayer and let God grow your faith and confidence to outlast the trials.
Much love,
Ryan W.
