Burnett Family

My good friend, Melinda, asked me to write a post for her blog about what God has been teaching me, and I thought I would go ahead and share it here with all of you, as well.

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Faith is one of my favorite words. I feel like I can’t get enough of its deep, unsearchable meaning.

Faith is a quality that God looks for and measures in us. It is the opposite of fear.  By it, we are saved through grace. Without it, we cannot please God. It is our means of overcoming the world. God purifies it through trials of fire. The Spirit produces it in our life. Just the tiniest bit will move a mountain. If you can see where you are going, you don’t need it. Without works to go with it, faith is totally dead. Satan’s darts cannot penetrate its shield. Faith is authored and finished by God alone.

I’ve been meditating on Hebrews 11:6 for days now. I love the complete picture it gives of what faith looks like in action!

“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.”

Faith starts out by “coming to God”. It sounds simple, but coming to Him means leaving something else. It means realizing that my “something else” is not working, and turning to HIM for the answers.  “Coming” takes humility, but He has given a most incredible promise that if we come to Him, He will come to us. (See James 4:8)

To me, the next part sums up what faith is all about - “believing that He IS”.

He exists.

He is present.

He is real. VERY real.

Faith is simply believing God. He is Who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. Period.

Once we are abiding in this reality of God, it becomes our turn to respond to Him. “Diligently seek” is not a mild term. It carries the idea of searching out in earnest, to demand, and to crave.  When I think of craving, I think of food :), but in Old English it means to beseech, to implore, to ask with submission or humility, to beg, and to entreat. This is faith’s response to the Rewarder who recompenses us so abundantly that anything we “lost” by coming, believing, and seeking, doesn’t seem like a loss at all.

Sooo, in the light of this verse, the Spirit has been prompting my heart with several questions…

If I truly believe that God is Who He says He is, what should be different about my life?

If I truly believe Christ is coming back again, why do I go for days without even thinking about His return?

If I truly believe He enables me to do all things, why do I whine about getting out of my comfort zone?

If I truly believe knowing Him is the greatest purpose and joy of life, why do I spend so little time getting to know Him?

If I truly believe that His smile is all that matters, why do I put so much value in what people think of me?

If I truly believe He does all things well, why do I hesitate to give Him the pen to write my life’s story?

“Believe in Him and not trust in Him? You might as well say, the Jews did love Him when they nailed Him to the cross.” ~Antony Farindon

I’m convicted! Genuine faith in God should and will pervade every minute part of my life.

“I do not want merely to possess a faith, I want a faith that possesses me.” ~Charles Kingsley

Even though you can’t see the seed, this flower is proof that the seed exists. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. God is looking for evidence in your life that shows that you really believe Him. We have the tremendous privilege and responsibility to live out our faith in such a way, that the world knows that God is real!

“We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.” ~C. H. Spurgeon

May my faith be evidence to God, myself, and the world that…

I. believe. God.