Faith

Faith…Do you Believe?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary faith is: belief and trust in and loyalty to God OR firm belief in something for which there is no proof

The word faith appears 336 times in the King James Version, 458 times in the New International Version, 378 in the New American Standard Bible, 521 in the Good News Bible and 447 times in the English Standard Version.

Since it is mentioned so many times in the Bible it must be important.

Dale Carnegie wrote of interviewing Henry Ford when Ford was seventy-eight years of age. He had expected to find a gaunt, nervous old man. When asked if he worried, Ford replied, “No. I believe God is managing affairs and He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”

Hebrews 11:1–2 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.

Hebrews 11:8–10 ESV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

For a long time I struggled with my faith. To be honest I sometimes still do. Recently, I had a major health scare. I was in the garage of the place we were staying at and I simply walked across the garage to throw something away. On my way back to where I was working, I fell. I was alone in the garage and I was face down on the concrete and I could not feel my arms or legs. Saying I was afraid is an understatement. That incident seriously tested my faith. Over the course of four months I was hospitalized three times. I had been falling for about three years without knowing why. Come to find out I have an autoimmune disorder that attacks the covering of my nerves. I struggled with why God was allowing this to happen to me. Not only was I falling, but, I was losing my memory and not knowing what was going on. My beautiful wife Elizabeth, constantly reminded me who I belong to. Inevitably there will be circumstances that leave us questioning things. We wonder if God is still there when we seem unable to hear him or feel his presence. It’s important to have a loving community to help us when we are struggling. While I still have flair ups from the CIDP and the pain is debilitating, I am reminded by my wife that I belong to God and HE will never leave me nor forsake me. so then, How do we grow our faith you ask? That is a great question! We need to realize that reading the bible is so important. It helps us store His word in our hearts. Prayer is equally important. I believe there is a third thing that ties bible reading and prayer together and I believe that is listening. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of our lives and we can read and pray, and we forget to quiet ourselves and listen. As we pray our belief grows, as our belief grows, our confidence and relationship with God grows. That my friends, is the most important thing of all.

Faith…Do you Believe?