And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:22-24 ESV
If someone asked me to define faith, I might say that it’s what we believe in. The bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as the reality of what is hoped for and the proof of what is not seen. When we have faith in something or someone, we believe that the object or person will do what they have promised to do. We have faith in a chair to hold us up. It was made for that. We have faith in our car to get us where we need to go. That’s its purpose.
The definition of faith as being the reality of things hoped for tells us without faith there is no hope. If we don’t believe in anything or anyone, we have no hope, right?
We all put our faith in something or someone. We have something, be it a job or an object that we trust to be there for us in times of need. We have faith in certain people to keep their commitments and help us out in times of trouble. But sadly, when I look around in this world today, I see few people that truly put their faith in God. We tend to want to put our faith in someone or something that we can see and feel. It’s hard to put your faith in something or someone that you can’t even see. I submit to you, however, that if you will put your faith in Him, you will see His works in your life.
Another reason I think so many people don’t truly put their faith in God is because it would mean surrendering to His will and His way. We don’t want to give up control. The funny thing is, we never had control. He’s been in control since He created the heavens and the earth. We have a false sense of control. We think that if we do this or do that, we can make things happen. Nothing happens without God allowing it to happen. Keep this in mind.
People can betray us objects can break down but yet we put our faith in these things. We are told in 1 Corinthians 2:5 that our faith should not rest in men, but in the power of God. We shouldn’t even put our faith in ourselves. We are told in Proverbs 3:5-6 to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways, we should acknowledge Him and He will make our crooked paths straight.
I want you to take a minute to think about your faith and where you place it. Do you place your faith in people or things that could let you down and leave you stranded? Now some of you may feel that God has let you down. Maybe there was a time in your life or several times in your life when you feel He didn’t come through when you needed Him. I have felt that way also, but I would come to find years later that God had something better planned for me. There were times when I desperately sought a way out of my situation and finally realized that God wanted me to bloom where I was planted. He was calling me to do a work there. There was a purpose for me being in that situation. Once I completed the task, He promptly released me and cleared the path for me to move on to greener pastures.
If you are placing your faith in yourself, others, or objects it is misplaced. We are told in Romans 8:28 that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. If you feel that God has let you down, look back on those times. Were you loving God with all your heart? Were you living your life according to His purpose for you?
It took me a while, but I finally figured it out. My life goes much smoother when I trust in God and let Him guide the way. He knows what my future holds and I know who holds my future. Trust in Him and obey Him. He will take care of the rest.
Have a great day!