Faith, faithity, faithy...faith

What is faith?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a few things that stuck out to me on faith were: "firm belief in something for which there is no proof," "something that is believed especially with strong conviction," and "complete trust." As I was reading through the definition, I wasn't thoroughly convinced...so I asked a few random friends on Facebook. These friends, btw, are not necessarily Christian but here is what they shared:

Mike: "Putting your future or the future of someone into the theoretical hands of an imaginary being, due to the fact you cannot cope with the results that will occur."

Cassie: "Faith is believing in something that you cannot see, but know it's there."

Yuki: "Trust."

Cliff: "I'd define the word faith as believing in someone (or something) to the extent that they can achieve whatever they want. Believing in their abilities to take them far in life."

Oscar: "Faith, what I believe, is a flawless willpower that we have when there is nothing left; it triggers our heart and mind to believe in something with sure confidence. We can trigger it at any time or trigger it at desperate times. Optimistic people trigger it all the time and that is why they succeed all the time because they 'know for sure' rather than 'I think'."

Do you know how the Bible defines faith?

"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." - Hebrews 11:1 [MSG]

 I like the Amplified version where it explains Hebrews 11:1 in this way:

"NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being proof of the things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]."

Generally what I got from this verse is that faith is having hope in what we cannot see, but being sure about it even though it cannot be understood through the physical senses. When we have faith we really don't know what the outcome will be, but only by trusting in God (the One who is Sovereign over all things) can we really trust His purposes for our lives because we know it will never be used to harm us or go void [Jer. 29:11].

A few days ago, I had read 2 devotionals and both happened to be talking about faith. The first one was from Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest and the other from Bedside Blessings by C.R. Swindoll. Here is what stuck out to me from Chambers (which made reference to Abraham from the Bible as a life lived on faith):

     Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason [...] A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith--a faith, tested and true, built on the true God.

 Swindoll writes:

     Too often the fog of the flesh blocks out our ability to see God's plan. Our selfishness pushes away His hand because we want our way. Our location and our situation become irksome assignments, and life becomes barren and cold.
     The only way to find happiness in the grind of life is to do so by faith. A faith-filled life means all the difference in how we view everything around us. It affects our attitudes toward people, toward location, toward situations, toward circumstances, toward ourselves. Only then do our feet become swift to do what is right.

At the end of the little devo, Swindoll concludes with this verse: "Being always of good courage [...] we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:6-7). Hmm, walking by faith...

It's really interesting because about more than a month ago, my church did this "spiritual gifts" assessment in all small groups...and you know what I found out? Apparently, my top 3 spiritual gifts are: service, discernment, and faith! I was kinda surprised by the other results, but faith? Not so much. I can write out a list of events where I have been tested in the area of faith and God has proved His Sovereignty over the situation or circumstance time and time again. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't make me perfect in the area of faith. There have been times where I haven't placed my faith in God and I can honestly tell you that those times don't end well (or any better than I would have expected). For me, I've just been tired of placing faith on myself because I have the tendency to let myself down. So, I turn to God because He is the Only One I can absolutely trust completely.

Living a life of faith (or a faith-filled life) comes with its share of challenges and struggles. But for some reason, I find it exhilarating, exciting, thrilling, inspiring, motivating, encouraging, and stimulating. It gets my heart pumping and my blood flowing because I find I'm living with hopeful anticipation! Does that make sense? lol. So faith, for me, means really really not knowing the details completely but trusting solely in the power of God, which gives me hope and absolute confidence in Him that everything will work out for His glory.

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." -Romans 8:26-28 [Message]