Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 HCSB
I must admit, it took me a while to understand how absolutely necessary faith was in my relationship with my Lord and Savior. It’s so easy to say we believe in God. It’s easy to say we are a Christian. But being in a solid relationship with Him is so much more than that. James 2:19 tells us we do well to believe but even the demons believe, and they tremble.
Believing that God exists is not the same as having faith. It’s getting us halfway to where we need to be. When we pray one could assume that we believe in God, otherwise why would we take the time to pray to Him. But we must go a step further when it comes to having faith.
The second part of our Scripture passage today says we must also believe that He rewards those who seek Him. This is where it’s easy to falter. This is where it can get a little shaky. The devil will remind us of every bad thing that has happened in our lives.
The devil will try to convince us that our lives are just one bad incident after the other. We must not believe his lies. Instead, we should focus on the good and the positive (Philippians 4:8). When we do this, we strengthen our faith. We must focus on all the good God has done in our life.
We must believe He wants good things for us. We must also understand He knows what our future holds. When we ask for something and He doesn’t give it to us, it’s because He is doing what’s best for us. In Matthew 7:11 Jesus says, ‘If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
This is why we should always pray for God’s will to be done. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:42, He prayed for God to remove the cup from Him. He prayed for God to find another way to save mankind. But He also prayed that God’s will be done. He was willing to die if that was God’s will. It was and He was hung on the cross to save us.
Our faith is absolutely necessary for our salvation. In John 3:14-15, Jesus tells us we must look upon Him to be saved. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all we need will be provided for us. We must look to Jesus for all we need and trust in Him to do what’s best for us.
The Richards Bible Dictionary defines faith as belief, confidence, trust, reliance. It also says that religious faith is a life-shaping attitude toward God. When we walk in faith, it changes our lives. It changes our whole perspective.
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. Verse 2 says our ancestors won God’s approval by having faith. Do you have faith? Do you trust in God even when the future looks bleak? Do you trust Him to take good care of you?
We can’t please God without faith. We were put on this earth to please God and be in close fellowship with Him. The devil doesn’t want you to have faith in God. He wants you to believe that God doesn’t care about you. We know that’s not true. 1 Peter 5:7 says, cast all your care on Him because He cares about you.
As Christians we must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This means in all we do; we should trust Him. We should trust that He knows and does what is best for us.
If he loved us enough to send His own Son to die for us while we were sinners, why would we ever doubt His great love for us? Why would we not trust Him to take good care of us?
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, get to know Him through Bible study and prayer. Trust in Him and obey His commands. Focus on the good He has done for you and don’t believe the devil’s lies.
And know that no matter what, you’ve gotta have faith!
Have a great day!