We all know what faith isn’t. It's not believing in God, whether that is that He exists or that He will do what He promised. It's breaking the part of the 10 Commandments that we remember or doing something that gets us in trouble. But do we know what faith is? We all know what the Bible says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 – KJV)
Recently God revealed to me a definition of faith that has challenged me a lot. The definition He gave me is, 'It isn't faith until what you want, what you need, even what you have to have in order to survive, yields to what God says.'
After I heard this, I started looking at what I was doing on a daily basis to see if my days actually included any acts of faith. After all, there is really only one way to please God: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 – KJV)
Was there anything I did on a daily basis that made what I wanted or what I felt I had to have yield to what God said? Honestly I was afraid that my answer for most days was going to be no. But with that concern or fear, whatever you want to call it, in mind, I decided to start calling certain actions what they were, acts of faith. So when I want to stop at the fast food restaurant on the way home because I am starving but know that it is not a good stewardship of my money or very healthy for my body; if I choose not to go get the fast food, I call it an act of faith.
It has been very cool to hear myself say, "God, I'm not doing or doing this 'whatever' as an act of faith to You." I find it easier to stick with the hard decisions when I'm looking at it this way, too. I mean if I've given up something as an act of faith to God and then go back on it and do it anyway, I see what I'm doing in the light of truth.
Maybe if we stop worrying about calling things 'sin' and started calling things 'faith' we might be able to build each other up into a walk that glorifies God and is closer to the holiness to which He's called us.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17 – KJV)
Recently God revealed to me a definition of faith that has challenged me a lot. The definition He gave me is, 'It isn't faith until what you want, what you need, even what you have to have in order to survive, yields to what God says.'
After I heard this, I started looking at what I was doing on a daily basis to see if my days actually included any acts of faith. After all, there is really only one way to please God: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 – KJV)
Was there anything I did on a daily basis that made what I wanted or what I felt I had to have yield to what God said? Honestly I was afraid that my answer for most days was going to be no. But with that concern or fear, whatever you want to call it, in mind, I decided to start calling certain actions what they were, acts of faith. So when I want to stop at the fast food restaurant on the way home because I am starving but know that it is not a good stewardship of my money or very healthy for my body; if I choose not to go get the fast food, I call it an act of faith.
It has been very cool to hear myself say, "God, I'm not doing or doing this 'whatever' as an act of faith to You." I find it easier to stick with the hard decisions when I'm looking at it this way, too. I mean if I've given up something as an act of faith to God and then go back on it and do it anyway, I see what I'm doing in the light of truth.
Maybe if we stop worrying about calling things 'sin' and started calling things 'faith' we might be able to build each other up into a walk that glorifies God and is closer to the holiness to which He's called us.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17 – KJV)
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