My Faith is In…
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
I hear people say many times when speaking about a certain situation in which they are involved, that they “have faith”, implying that they believe that everything will work out as they hoped. When I hear folks on television, like celebrities or politicians say that they “have faith”, I want to ask them in what are they placing that faith that they say they have. Other than from Christian brothers and sisters, I rarely hear that their faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting He will work out those situations according to His will. I am not saying that all celebrities and politicians are ignorant of scripture and of the gospel for there are some who are believers. God has His remnant in all places. But, as I observe the words and actions of these familiar faces, I doubt that many would know Paul from Peter. Just about everyone, believers and unbelievers alike, want their situations and problems to work out the way that they desire. Most everyone thinks they know what is best for himself or herself. Through past experience, though, dedicated believers know that the best results come from God’s plan and not their own. That’s where true faith comes in.
I think some folks have faith in faith. That’s like saying, “I believe in believing”. Genuine faith is found in a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the One who can turn our faith into answers. The word “faith” is found in the Old Testament only two times, in Deuteronomy 32:20, where God told Moses that the disobedient and wayward Hebrew people were “children in whom is no faith” and in Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by his faith”. On the other hand, the word “faith” is found hundreds of times in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, faith was found in those who believed in the promise of a Savior, and the New Testament gives us God’s Son, the fulfilling of that promise, the One in whom we are to place our faith. Abraham and many of his descendants placed their faith in Christ without even knowing who He would be. We have the advantage of knowing exactly who the Savior is, God’s Son. However, many never take advantage of the opportunity to know God’s Son as Lord and Savior.
In Mark 11:22-26, Jesus made a remarkable statement. He said that whoever by faith would say unto the nearby mountain for it to move and fall into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe what he said would happen, it will happen. I was discussing this verse with a co-worker many years ago, and her explanation was that if you believed you could move a mountain, you would go and hire men with bulldozers and put them to work. That seemed to me to be more like works than faith, because in my mind’s eye I can see a mountain just falling over into the sea. However, James 2:17 tells us that faith without works is dead. Perhaps her explanation made sense after all. What I find difficult about faith is the part about not doubting. Doubt is one of our major enemies when it comes to faith. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that God can do anything, and I mean anything, except fail. But, even when we know He can do something, we sometimes have doubt that He will do it. When we pray and request of Him, He hears our prayers, and He will provide an answer, but usually not exactly like we desired. It may be a flat “no” or “wait”, or the answer that will solve our dilemma one way or another. Whatever He chooses is always the best way.
Those who wish to place their faith in faith will miss out if they don’t recognize Jesus Christ and His position as King of kings and Lord of lords, the only One in whom we are to have faith. They may experience what they “wished” for, but it will never satisfy that deep longing for peace and contentment that most folks desire. I suppose that most believers would like to have a stronger faith, but, like muscles in the body must be exercised to get stronger, we must exercise our faith by applying it to every and all situations that we face on a daily basis until it becomes a habit that we don’t even have to think about. Doesn’t Christ desire for us to trust Him without question?