Without faith it is impossible to trust God. Because God is an invisible God it takes faith to believe He exists and faith to believe that we have a relationship with Him. He is an unseen God. God is not visible to the naked eye. It is written in Hebrews 11:1 ‘Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen‘. According to this verse faith is the hope of things unseen. I think of trust as a choice, I choose whether to place my trust in someone or something. Of course faith is also dependant on a number of factors such as past experience, deliverables and consistency.
So it takes faith to believe in God and Romans 10:17 says ‘faith comes by hearing‘. So for you to believe in an unseen God you have to first hear that He exists. The Lord has been gracious and intentional in letting us know about Himself. The bible is a book that consists of sixty-six books written by forty authors and inspired by none other than the Holy Spirit. I am overwhelmed and humbled when I contemplate the painstaking work it has taken to get it written. And to have the stories passed down from one generation to another. The authors of these books at least in the authors in the beginning were not aware that the story all ties in together. And that a common thread runs through the story and that there was an end in sight.
So to receive faith one has to hear and upon hearing one has to take action. Once you have established you have faith, the next step is to believe. Believe is an action word, the definition of believe to be convinced of something or to give credence to. For me believing starts with identifying my problem or need then putting it into words and giving it a category. Then finding the scripture verse that addresses this need or problem. After which I meditate on the word searing it on my heart and mind till I am convinced that deep down I believe it. As I exercise my faith, putting my believe in action , trusting for an answer I maintain an air of hope and expectation.
What I have learnt is to wholeheartedly give my trust to God based on His word, on our relationship and the everlasting love that He has proclaimed for me. It is not easy and not because God is not an awesome character. But it is because one I tend to get discouraged by delays. Secondly I become flustered because of worries and other cares. Thirdly I become unfocused and talk myself out of my blessing. And lastly deep down I don’t think I deserve what I am asking for. My advice to you this week is put your faith into action by believe that at the least God who puts His word above His name will honour His word.