What Faith Is And What It Is Not
There is no defining faith without Romans 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. KJV
Faith comes by continuous hearing of the word of God. And faith is built by same continuous hearing of the word of God. Faith is like bricks. The more you add to it, the more it grows.
In order to link where we’re driving at, we need to look at John 4:24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth. KJV Emphasis mine
What is the truth? Truths are practical facts. Practical? That’s derived form the word practice. And practice involves taking action. So, if you must please God, you must believe and practise – act – what you believe. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. KJV
It’s not enough to just keep hearing the word, there’s a need to act what you hear. That’s the way to please God. That brings us to what faith is.
What Faith is
Like I explained more in my previous post titled What is Faith, faith is a fact behind the fact. A fact is a reality you can see. There’s no denying a fact. But what matters is what you do about the fact. Do you have a desire for the fact to change? Do something about it. That’s faith.
Some people read and read the word in order to have faith against an unpleasant situation in their lives, but they fail to act towards getting rid of the situation. It’s no sin to visit the hospital after you must have read the word to build your faith.
You do not continue to live a lifestyle you know is telling on your health and tend to ignore the health implications because you have faith. You cannot continue to act in such a way that produces negative results and expect something difference simply because you have faith. Whatever we do have consequences, right or wrong, positive or negative. If you desire a different outcome, start acting on the areas that influence the desired outcome.
Faith is going to the hospital when the sickness continues, after praying and exercising your faith for a reasonable number of days. You can have faith that God can use the doctors to heal you. You can have faith in the drugs prescribed to you by the doctors that God can use them to heal you.
You need a job and you have faith you’d get one. Get up. Go out there and look for the job. You have a field and you have faith for increase. Go till the field for the increase you’re having faith for. That’s putting your faith into action. Manna fell from heaven for the children of Israel in the wilderness. There’s no doubt about that and there’s no limiting what God can do. But when last and how often do you hear about that? God does not encourage laziness. And He does not encourage stupidity either. Even the lame Jesus healed had to do the work of getting up to get their healing. That brings us to what faith is not.
What Faith is not
Faith is not the denial of the reality. It is the acknowledgment of the reality and the hope of a positive/different outcome while working for the realization of that anticipated positive/different outcome.
It has always been a problem when believers kick start their faith process and fold their hands, waiting for automatic desired results. Faith without work is as good as dead. James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. KJV
Faith is not magic. Faith is no friend to laziness. One can be hardworking spiritually but physically lazy. But Spiritually hardworking does not compliment for physical hard work. And there’s no short cut to hard work.
Faith can turn your hard work to smart work. There’s revelation in practising your faith through work. In the midst of your hard work, God in whom you have the faith can easily drop in some smarter ideas. If you look through the scriptures, God never called an idle or lazy man.
Faith does not make it a taboo to visit the hospital. The work of the doctors should be a booster to your faith. That’s faith with works. Most of the responses and answers to your faith have always been through other people and through other things. What if you’re working towards a solution to the challenge and the solution comes from there? Your faith has worked for you. But that does not mean you should be going about seeking for solution where you should not. God is everywhere but His Presence is not in every place. Some people seek God where His Presence is not.
When you have done all you could do
Remember, faith comes through continuous hearing of the word of God. The word of God we hear regularly helps us believe that there’s an answer to what we seek. As long as we are sincerely and genuinely working towards a solution to a situation, the faith we have in God will always give us the desired outcome.
In the situation where you’ve done all you could do and the situation persists, hand it totally to Him. He knows what He’s doing. You should also bear in mind that whenever you find yourself seeking and acting for solution to a challenge, you must look out for the peace of God. His peace accompanies faith in Him.
Philippians 4:6-7. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. KJV
