Faith is not some magical force conjured up through pat formulas, and it certainly is not a physical substance carried around in word-containers. Faith is the firm conviction that God “IS”, exists, and, by extension, is faith in His written word by which He defines Himself to mankind. God means exactly what He says in His word, and will do exactly what He has promised in His word. Faith recognizes God is Supreme... independently matchless and incomparable in rank, Sovereign... independently matchless and incomparable in rule and authority, Majestic... independently matchless and incomparable in royalty, Truth... we can trust and rely upon His word, Gracious... His free unmerited favor...totally without obligation, superabounds in the forgiveness of our sins, Merciful... in sympathy, shrouded in lovingkindness, He extends grace to alleviate the consequences of our sins, Kind... He is benevolent and goodhearted toward us, Compassionate... He is deeply concerned about our well being, Loving... He passionately pursues our heart, Relational... He wants to be our Lord and Master, Intentional... He has a plan for us, Unfathomable... we won’t understand His plan, Unrelenting... He won’t give up on His plan for us, Patient... He loves us to the end, and Good... He works all our “things” into accord with His own purposes. And, our faith recognizes God is a Consuming Fire... and not to be trifled with!
Faith... firm conviction, leads to personal surrender, and obedient conduct inspired by this surrender. “Have faith in God”: The object of our faith is not God’s promises, the occasions for exercising it, but God Himself. And the command to “have faith” is self-fulfilling: The clear precise commands of God come with one string attached, the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, for Grace enables what it commands. So when God commands to “have faith”, we … have faith! The greatest human demonstration of faith is to trust God even when one does not understand, recognizing His peace is far better than knowing why. And, comparatively, greater faith is required when the miracle doesn’t come than when it does... when God chooses not to intervene, as we refuse to allow anything to affect our love for God and trust in His goodness. We believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling to God, persevering in the midst of affliction, trusting despite the whirlwind, standing fast in the storm of life’s circumstances with faith that is fixed on God. We will all hit speed-bumps on the threshing floor of life that will attempt to derail us... but our faith will keep us on the road home to Daddy! True faith is rooted in the absolute sovereignty of God, who is totally in control, recognizing His purposefulness and accepting His will in all matters of life: “Nevertheless, not as I will but as You will.”
HAVE FAITH IN GOD
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