Faith remains the vital key that unlocks everything God has provided for us in Christ. We continue our exploration of the basics of faith this week. We examine what faith truly is, what it is not, and how to activate it in daily life.
I have observed over many years that Christians tend to fall into two groups when it comes to faith. I want to know whether a person understands faith. The sad reality is that the vast majority do not truly grasp it. Even more concerning, many who do not understand it believe they do. They use the right words and buzzwords. Yet when you listen carefully, the faith language falls apart and reveals what they actually believe in their heart.
God calls us to a real faith that works, a faith that connects with Him and appropriates all that Christ has provided.
As it is written in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith Is the Substance of Things Not Seen
We read this yesterday and return to it today. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The Classic Amplified version describes it powerfully: “Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for, being the proof of the things we do not yet see, the conviction of their reality, faith perceiving as a real fact that which is not yet revealed to the physical senses.”
One of the biggest challenges in walking by faith comes from evaluating it through our feelings or physical senses. Many times I thought I had faith because I felt something strong in my emotions. Or I believed I was in faith when an immediate result appeared. I even heard teachings that encouraged looking for a deep inner knowing or conviction after praying.
God can give those experiences. Yet that is not the definition of faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, not heard, not tasted, not touched, and not felt. Faith exists in the realm of the spirit. We should not try to feel our faith or measure it by emotions or physical senses.
As it is written in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
We can expand this truth without twisting Scripture. We walk by faith and not by what we see. We walk by faith and not by what we hear, smell, touch, or taste. We walk by faith and not by what we feel in our emotions.
If you are born of God, He has given you the measure of faith. You are a believer, not a doubter. You can grow and expand that faith. But you already possess it.
The Difference Between What Is True and What Is the Truth
Many things in our lives are true in the moment. Yet they are not the eternal truth that sets us free. The things we can see are temporary, subject to change. The things we cannot see are eternal.
As it is written in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
I can hold a pen in my hand and say it is true. Yet that truth changes when I put the pen down. It is not an eternal reality. Faith calls us to believe the eternal truth of God’s Word even when temporary circumstances look different.
We are not called to deny what we see or feel. We are called to build our lives on something higher. We step out of the boat of our own experience onto the rock of God’s Word. We do this not based on how we feel but based on what we believe.
I remember speaking at a wonderful church and enjoying a meal afterward at a steakhouse. I ordered a big rack of ribs. Imagine if I had eaten only five percent of that meal, pushed the plate back, and said that was enough. My friends would have rightly felt it was a bit insulting to the provision they had made. They paid for the full meal.
In the same way, Jesus has provided an amazing, rich, and free salvation. It would be sad to live off only a small portion of what He has already accomplished at the cross. Faith appropriates what grace has provided. It takes hold of the full meal that has been paid for in full.
Framing Your World by the Word of God
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. The things that are seen were not made from things that are visible. The seen is not made by the seen.
You are called to frame your world with the Word of God. You are called to change the things around you and bring God’s will into your circumstances. This is not a passive “whatever will be, will be” approach to life. It is the active declaration, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Too much of what we call charismatic Christianity centers around emotions and spiritual experiences in the soul realm. Feeling the presence of God is wonderful when it happens. Yet the absence of feeling does not make the truth any less true. Faith stands firm regardless of what our five physical senses or emotions report in the moment.
I am recalibrating much of what I think and believe in this season. I encourage you to take time today to think this through with me. Faith is of the spirit. We act on God’s Word because we believe it, not because we feel it.
This truth sets us free to live boldly. We no longer wait for the perfect feeling before we step out. We possess what Christ has provided by faith even when it is not yet revealed to our physical senses.
The reality is that faith produces results. It connects us with God. It brings the unseen eternal realities into our present experience. Let us move beyond surface-level confession into a faith that truly works in the spirit realm.
Selah.
Scriptures for Study:
Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:3, 2 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Romans 12:3, Hebrews 11:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:2, Romans 14:23, Mark 9:23, Romans 10:17, James 1:6-8, Mark 11:22-24, Matthew 17:20, Galatians 3:2, Galatians 5:6, 1 John 5:4, Romans 4:17, Romans 4:20-21, Hebrews 10:38, Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 2:6, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Corinthians 4:13
10 Questions for Reflection:
- In what areas of my life have I been evaluating my faith by feelings rather than by God’s Word?
- How can I learn to stand on the title deed of Scripture when my physical senses report something different?
- Where am I living from temporary truths instead of eternal truth?
- How does the distinction between spirit faith and emotional faith change the way I pray and believe?
- What would it look like for me to appropriate more fully what Christ has provided on the cross?
- How can I frame my world with the Word of God in my current circumstances?
- In what ways have I confused inner feelings of assurance with actual faith?
- How can I grow in walking by faith and not by sight, hearing, or feeling?
- Where do I need to recalibrate my understanding of faith in this season?
- What practical steps can I take today to build my life on the rock of God’s Word rather than my emotions?
