Faith (Heb 11:6)

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. - Heb 11:6

Faith is the starting point of a relationship with God. Without faith we cannot know God.

Faith is not a "wishy-washy maybe its true, maybe its not."

Faith is absolute certainty.

A few verses earlier the writer tells us,

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." - Heb 11:1

Faith is assurance and conviction.

Faith is being ready to lay our lives down for what we believe.

Until we reach this point, we have not even truly begun our relationship with the living God.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Not difficult, or unlikely.

Impossible.

If we do not have this faith, we must pursue it as we would pursue oxygen if we were deprived of it. God will grant this desire. It is not the quantity of faith but the quality that God is after. All it takes is a mustard seed of pure, genuine faith for mountains to be moved in our lives.

Many people do not believe such faith exists. They think they always have to live in a sea of doubt as to the existence or goodness of God.

"Some days I believe God is out there some days I don't"

This is how I lived the first 25 years of my life. I didn't know any other reality. I suspect this is how many Christians still operate.

This thought process is from the enemy. Jesus Christ went to His Cross to prove God's reality and goodness beyond a shadow of doubt. If we do not accept this gift, we are rejecting the fruit of His sacrifice.

We must not mistake faith with feelings. When it comes to our faith, it does not matter one bit whether we 'feel' God or not. Our feelings have no bearing on our faith. Feelings are not bad, but they are transient. They come and go. The Word of the Lord lasts forever.

Jesus Christ has made genuine faith available to everyone who seeks it. This is why He came to the Earth.

You cannot find what you are not looking for. And you will not look for what you do not believe exists. Most people do not believe this type of faith exists. And until an encounter with God, how could they?

This is the job of the Church - to let God manifest Himself through us so that when people see us, they see Jesus Christ. We are His hands and feet. We are His representatives. We are His ambassadors.

This does not mean that trials will not come to the man or woman of faith. This does not mean that our faith will not be tested.

Far from it.

It is by this very testing that our faith grows from a tiny mustard seed into a large tree bearing much fruit. It is only through these tests and trials that we come to know that we know that we know. This is when our faith pleases Him the most, and thus when it garners the greatest reward.

Michelangelo once said "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

Too many people have a very low, modest view of God in their minds. Their God is a God who is distant, hidden, who doesn't speak the way He used to in the Bible, and who has not given us assurance of His reality.

This is the God many people expect to see, and this is the God they find.

Let us lift up our eyes and recognize that this distant God is merely a God of our own imaginations. The God of this universe and all the rest has manifested Himself through Jesus Christ to give us assurance of His existence. He went to the Cross to give us proof of His love. He has given us His Spirit to enable us to partake in His Divine Nature.

All He is is waiting for is for us to come to Him like little children and believe.

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.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone,

so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Mark 11:22-25