Faith

One of the most powerful and least understood forces in our world is faith. In the book of Hebrews, Paul defines faith as being the “substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is like lightening before thunder, the calm before the storm, a crash before a child’s cry.

One of the more interesting observations people made in Indonesia, prior to the Tsunami hitting their coast, was that the animals sensed devastation was coming, became highly agitated, and fled to the hills. Faith is very much like that. It is an innate spiritual sense that something is about to happen. Faith is rarely based on objective reality or the here and now; rather it is a sense of God’s hand in the future which may or may not have much to do with the present.

Sometimes faith is confused with wishful thinking. There are those who would have us believe that a hoped for outcome can be had if only we had the faith to make it so. Over the years, I have seen people refuse necessary medical treatment for serious illnesses because they thought God might interpret this as a sign of their lack of faith and withhold His healing.

This is not the faith that Paul speaks about in Hebrews. True faith is more like the Three Wise Men who instinctively knew that a star would lead them to the birth of Messiah. It wasn’t wishful thinking, but it was a deep spiritual instinct.

What does this mean for you and me? It means that we must always be ready to hear from God the messages given through either our faith or the faith of others. I am more convinced than ever: the biggest obstacle to our walk with Christ is a powerful reality and an inevitable future that appears greater even than God. Discouragement sets in; then, ears and hearts stop listening. Like Israel in the wilderness, blessing is delayed, and everyone suffers. Why? Because the promise was never preceded by faith; therefore, the promise wouldn’t happen, at least for them.

What is God telling you about His future? You know what your eyes and ears are telling you about the present, but what is He saying about Him? Objective reality and inevitable outcomes guide the actions of the world; faith, guides the actions of believers.

PJ