Are You A Person of Faith?
Jan Smith
Are you a person of faith? That word gets tossed around casually, but what does it really mean to you?. Churches say their parishioners are “people of faith”. Politicians refer to “faith-based” groups. But… what exactly is “faith”?
Here’s how the Bible defines faith:
Does that help? I don’t know about you, but I need a little help with that. How fortunate we are that expert help is available.
I’m grateful to Dr. James MacDonald, whose Walk In The Word Bible teaching broadcasts I’ve been listening to for years, for this insightful definition of what faith is. As Pastor James puts it, faith is:
- Believing what God’s Word says…
- And acting on it…
- No matter how I feel…
- Because God promises a good result!
In his best-selling book The Prayer of Jabez, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson describes how he came to know what a step of faith is. He was wrestling with negative feelings, feelings if inadequacy, which came about following a decision he’d made to take what he thought was a step of faith. After seeking the wisdom of a Bible-teacher friend, Dr. Wilkinson was able to express his insight:
- It goes against common sense.
- It contradicts your previous life experience.
- It seems to disregard your feelings, training, and need for security.
- It sets you up to look like a fool and a loser.
Yet it is God’s plan for His most honored servants.
Dr. Wilkinson’s books are filled with wisdom that articulates so well the principles I’m building the remainder of my life upon. It’s no surprise to me that his books are all best-sellers.
A friend noticed, and remarked about my door situation. I just said matter-of-factly, “I know that everything I have came from God. Right now, this is the vehicle He has provided for me. Until He provides something else, this is what I have. I am quite content with it.”
“Man!”, he replied, “I sure wish I had your faith.”
“You can have it”, I replied. So can anyone. But it takes work on our part.
The Bible gives us the recipe for building up our faith:
Learning and applying principles from the Bible is by far the most effective faith-building process there is. As the inevitable trials of life knock us for a loop, learning to respond according to principles given to us by God is how our faith in Him grows.
This is exactly like working out at the gym. Suppose someone wanted to strengthen and build up their bicep muscles. If they never lift anything but one-pound weights, their muscles will not grow bigger. It’s not until they start pumping the heavy weights that muscle growth happens. When they get to the point where they are straining but they just… can’t… lift it… one more time, that’s when the body “knows” it has to increase the size of that muscle. But the growth doesn’t come without the adversity of lifting the weights.
In the same way, faith also increases through adversity. When we respond to difficulties by turning to God in faith and letting Him help us, that’s when our faith grows.
So far, this is all so much theory. Time for a practical application. Here’s one I believe everyone can replate to: financial stewardship. In biblical times, God deliberately set the bar high by requiring that the first-fruits – one tenth – of peoples’ work be returned to Him. That directive has never been recinded. But how many people believe they can tithe and not go broke?
Here’s my point: if you have to see all the dots connected before you’ll believe and act, that is not faith. Get it? Faith is believing and acting even when it doesn’t seem to make sense.
