“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” (2 Cor. 5:7) “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Heb. 10:38)
No mountain climber has ever known this faith, the worst that can happen to him in this life is that he would slip and fall to his death. No sports star understands this life of faith, once he has reached an age when his talents can no longer enable him to be competitive, he no longer has a purpose for all those years of training. Every moment of every day, without pause, without any breaks, those who have been crucified with Christ live by faith. This faith lives for no other reason than that God would be glorified, it does not fear death. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55)
It does not question the authority of Almighty God, it obeys.
Many times faith means moving forward when we can’t see where we’re going, it means acting upon something when we don’t know the outcome, but it is also the epitome of patience. “In your patience possess ye your souls.” (Luke 21:19) I do not know where the most mistakes are made by those that serve the Lord, by acting before we have been given at least a partial view of where the Holy Spirit is leading us, or by our inaction because we are just not sure.
The closest synonym I know for the word faith is trust, but it still does not really come close to what true faith in Jesus Christ is. We see, but as through a glass darkly, we start something when we do not always know how it will end, we move forward with no clear vision of the goal, save for the faith that we are doing all within our meager power to be obedient servants, willing followers of the Lord. Faith doesn’t just have Proverbs 3:5-6 memorized, it lives by it, it trusts that the One who wrote those words was telling the truth.
If we acknowledge the Lord before we undertake any action in our lives, then He will direct those paths, our feet will find solid ground in our endeavors. But there is a caveat, so to speak. Have you ever witnessed someone at a sporting event praying for their team to win, have you ever heard someone praying for the Lord to save everyone everywhere? “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil. 4:6) does not mean that every prayer that you offer up to the Lord is going to be answered with an Amen, yes, that would be misplaced faith. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3) This is the answer to those prayers.
Prayer in itself is an act of faith, you are praising someone you have never seen, you are requesting things from someone you have never met in person, you are asking the One to whom nothing is impossible to make something happen in your life that you yourself cannot do. No unsaved person can understand these truths, because “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6) But I fear that many who are saved may not only be asking amiss, but may be forgetting, or not realizing that we have already received the greatest answer we could ever receive, the greatest reward has already been given to us, Jesus Christ Himself.
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) We have Christ, we have the kingdom of heaven, we are heirs to all that exists because we have been found in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:6) From here, whatever requests we ask must seem menial, they must at times seem as an ordinary rock compared to the sapphire. Yet we ask, sometimes amiss, but always in a faith that realized that if it is for His glory, it will indeed be answered. Your salvation is secure, let your faith in Christ be just as secure.
