With Faith, All Things Are Possible
We’ve been talking about habits the past couple of weeks - putting God first and discovering your purpose. Today, I want to focus on the habit of faith. The Bible says that we are to live by faith. Living by faith in God takes the pressure off of us and allows us to enjoy life in a much greater way.
Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, we cannot please God. Romans 14:23b says that anything we do that is not done in faith is sin. Romans 1:17 says that righteousness is revealed in God's word and that it leads us from faith to faith. These scriptures lead me to believe that faith should be a habit.
Faith is trusting in what God says in his word even though you may not have any evidence of its reality yet. Faith connects us to an all-powerful God. Two things that I want to see in my life and in the life of my church are power and hope. These come by faith. “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]” (Hebrews 11:1 AMPC).
AW Tozer says it this way, “True faith is never found alone; it is always accompanied by expectation. The man who believes the promises of God expects to see them fulfilled. Where there is no expectation there is no faith.” Ask for what you need or desire, expecting God‘s help. With God all things are possible (unlimited).
We all have all the faith we need, to do whatever God’s will is for our life. We all have faith but the key to success is where we place our faith. If you put your faith in yourself or in other people, you will be disappointed, but if you put your faith in God you will be amazed at what he can do through you.
Faith requires that you step out. We must begin and if what we are doing is God‘s will, he will never fail to help us finish. You have been given a measure of faith, but it may need to grow. Little faith can become great faith as you step out on the promises of God. Peter was the only disciple who walked on the water, but then, he was also the only one who trusted God enough to get out of the boat. As we take steps of faith to be obedient to God, we experience his faithfulness and our faith becomes strong in him.
Are you committed to living by faith or are you just merely talking about faith? Faith is in us, but it must be released and that is done by praying, saying, and taking action. Prayer carries our faith-filled requests before the throne of God. Pray boldly, for he is able to do more than we can ask, think or imagine.
Taking action releases faith. When Peter got out of the boat, his action, when Jesus said “come”, proved that he had faith in God. In order to do or have greater things, we are usually required to let go of what we have and head into the unknown. More faith comes on the way than when we are starting.
We need faith for daily living. It is vital if we are going to eliminate stress and really enjoy life. The faith habit will leave no room for the worry habit. It also drives out the fear habit. I encourage you to verbalize your faith. Say “I trust God” or “I believe that God is working all things together for my good”. We speak from a place of faith and then what we say also increases our faith. The best way to defeat worry and fear is to resist them right away when they first try to enter your mind. Faith is filled with hopeful expectation and it never gives up.
We also need faith for the past. Regret over yesterday can ruin today. God‘s word teaches us to let go of the past by faith and press toward the things that are ahead. If you’re concerned about something from your past, meditate on scripture and let it encourage you to trust God. “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19 NLT). God is doing a new thing. It’s already started. Release your faith and know that no matter what happened in the past, God is greater. He’ll forgive your sins, he'll turn your mistakes into miracles and your tests into testimonies and leave you amazed at the good things that he can do in your life.
We can also have faith for the future. God is the only one who knows the future. I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I do believe that whatever it is, it will be God‘s good and perfect plan. It is God who holds the future.
The faith habit allows us to accept whatever our circumstances are with joy because we trust God that all things will work together for our good (Romans 8:28 NLT). We can trust God no matter what things look or feel like.
Our impatience won’t make God hurry so we might as well decide to wait with joy. Acceptance with joy is proof of faith. Our attitude says loud and clear, “I believe God is perfect in all of his ways and I know I am in his hands”.
If you want to develop the habit of faith, you’ve got to let go of being in control of your life and trust God with everything. Abandonment is forgetting the past entirely, leaving the future completely in his hands, and totally being at peace with the present, knowing that the moment you are in, contains God‘s perfect will for you for that moment. He is faithful.