Faith gets God's Attention

                         

Faith impresses God

                                                   

Many of us speak of having faith but we do not have it. Some of us have gone as far as mentioning that we have 'crazy' faith or big faith, but yet our actions are far from it. Most of the time what we demonstrate is nothing but lip service. True faith gets God’s attention, not mere lip service or wishful thinking. The Hebrew writer defined faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb.11:1)”. Faith, therefore, means abandoning all trust in our resources, abilities, and reasoning-the things we see. It means relying instead on things we cannot see-God's promises, provisions, and his concern for us. An inner attitude alone does not define faith, though. For faith to be present, the action is required. Faith proves itself by its obedience to the Lord. How do we know we do not have faith enough? Because we have been climbing the same mountain for years and cannot reach the top; we have been facing the same giants for years and remain defeated but (Matt. 17:20) says “truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.” What we need is not so much the ‘crazy’ faith, what we need is the mustard seed faith. It is what will get God’s attention.

 

Faith requires faith

Sounds strange? To develop faith is not something that can be cultivated overnight. It takes diligence, obedience, and paying close attention to the seasons we have gone through and learning from life’s lessons. God is not impressed by what we can do for him; the titles we have, the positions we occupy, the nature of our jobs, the surnames we carry, the friends we have, the state of our bank accounts. These things are meaningless. The Hebrew writer expressed faith in two dimensions: faith towards future things (what we hope for) and faith towards invisible things (what we do not see). When we are certain God is in control of these areas and we live like he is in control, that is faith.

Examples of faith that pleased God 

- By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith (Heb. 11:7)

- By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,  even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Heb. 11:17-19)

-  By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. (Heb. 11:29)

- By faith, the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. (Heb. 11:30)

- By faith, the Centurion's servant who was paralyzed was healed simply because he believed if Jesus spoke the word, his servant would be made well. Jesus mentioned that he had not found such great faith in Israel

 

Why is faith so important?

- It is when we give ourselves over to faith that we will truly see the hand of God in our lives. The impossible becomes possible when we apply faith.

- Many of the things we have asked God for has not been delivered to us because we lack faith.

-Many of us will not acquire the wholeness we want in our lives because we depend too much on our self-efforts. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 tells us that we are not our own… we belong to God.

 

     It is time to apply faith 

What is it that you want God to do for you? If you ONLY apply faith, it shall be done. Do you desire healing? Do you desire children? Do you desire marriage? Do you desire a job? Do you desire additional qualifications? Do you desire a life devoted to Christ? Do you desire financial independence? Do you desire peace of mind?

 

(Be sure to fill in space below whether by commenting or saying it aloud to God)

Prayer: 

Dear God, I need ____________________________. I know you can do it as you have done for others. You are the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

 

Living without faith is no living at all

  

By L. Fearon