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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? (James 2:14–17)
Faith will present itself. It happens simply by living. If we sit in a chair, we have demonstrated faith in the power of the chair to lend its support. If we swallow pills from the pharmacy, we demonstrate faith in the pharmacist and the manufacturer. Just the opposite is true as well. If we refuse to sit in a four-legged chair that only has three stable legs, our faith is revealed as lacking. Likewise, if we notice packaging that’s been tampered with, we may refuse the medication, thereby also revealing a lack of faith.
Faith for the believer in Jesus engages salvation, and salvation works itself out with fear and trembling. In other words, saving faith will continue to produce good fruit, or works, in the believer’s life; actions will tell the tale of faith. These actions are like the bloom of a flower: the bloom does not create a flower, but its existence signals that it came from one.
Flicks and Faith
Faith exhibits itself when I choose entertainment. Take movies for example. If I take care when choosing, by using information on a site such as Plugged In or even considering the MPAA rating system, then my concern shows faith that God has set limits on me and, by extension, the entertainment I enjoy. If, on the other hand, my attitude is, “I’m adult enough to see a movie without being negatively affected by it,” then I likely am unaware of, or do not have faith in, God’s Word, which says I can be deceived by my own heart, my own desires. Faith is grounded in truth, and truth is found in the person and character of God revealed in the Bible.
Trying Traffic
So what happens when driving down the road and some “jerk” cuts in front of me and slows down, almost causing an accident? (I’m not saying that’s ever happened to me.) What does faith have to do with it? Well, faith remembers that Jesus suffered unjustly at the hands of sinners. Faith remembers that I am to be like Him, suffering wrong and not seeking vengeance for myself in the form of aggressive driving or gestures not-quite loving. No, I am not equating crucifixion with rush-hour traffic; my attitude is symbolic, a representation of the attitude of Christ, forgiving others apart from their deservedness. When we remember Jesus and seek His ways, that’s acting in faith.
Money Matters
Confronted by a stack of bills or maybe just thoughts of them, I am facing a faith issue. Will I let worry over due dates and available funds plague my mind and keep me from praising the God who saved me? Or will I recall the words that tell me I am worth much more to God than many sparrows, whom He provides for consistently? What shall I choose? Will I place faith in my Provider or in the provision of my own hands? Where will my faith be revealed?
Identity Instigator
There is nothing more precious than the lilting voice of a child . . . until that child says, “I hate you!” And what takes place next? Do I react out of my woundedness? Does my faith in my identity, founded on being liked, being valued by others, form my reaction? However, if I am saved from my sins, I am a new creation. Can I tell myself the truth that God has told me and choose to live out of and love from the identity I have from being a son or daughter of Christ? Do I really have faith that I have been adopted into His family and that adoption is reality?
What to Do?
Unforeseen events. Long lines. Complicated circumstances. Have you ever had one phone call turn into two more, resulting in waiting on a return call that won’t seem to come? And that was only one of the dozen items on the must-do section of your to-do list—today? When my plans don’t produce fruit, does anxiety or anger become the next item on the list? What does that tell me about my faith and whom—or what—it’s placed in? Can I recall that God’s Word tells me that He is working all things in my life to produce good fruit? Will I let this truth be where my faith is found?
“Nice Ride”
Installing a new battery in my nearing “vintage” car, my neighbor rolls by in a beautiful 2019 Envy (made by Ford, I think). Again with the choices. Do I recount how I work harder, attend church more, pray harder, give more, blah, blah, blah, than my neighbor, so why can’t I have pretty things too? Or, I could recall the truth spoken through the apostle and savor the eternal glory I’ll share with the Father: “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
I could go on . . . and on . . . and on . . . until your eyeballs bleed. For where we are, I am convinced, is a land of faith. It can be faith based in what we experience, what we feel, and what we see and think, or we can look beyond—to a world that transcends our five senses, to things unseen. Faith ultimately comes back to and begins in a person: Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and our Master, our Savior and our Teacher. Faith in Him means valuing Him above all else, seeking Him above all else, and listening to Him above all else. We walk by faith, not by sight. Faith acts as a reset, a recalibration of reality to conform to the truth. And knowing the Truth will set you free!
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