Faith isn't willpower. Faith isn't you believing hard for a prayer or a miracle to happen. It's not the more you believe the more you'll get. Many describe or understand having strong faith as people that are really committed to church attendance and activities or how much they believe in well, whatever they believe in. However in the Christian eschatology, faith is defined quite differently.
Does faith have all the elements of strength, courage, boldness, tenacity, "willpower"? Yes it does, but these qualities are an outcome, a result if you would say, of having faith and not in it of itself faith. It is the apple on an apple tree not the sun and rain of which the apple tree get's it's nourishment from.
So what is faith then?
And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” - Full story Luke 8:43-48
This story defines faith so accurately. Faith is defined by God. Here, Jesus looks at the woman and says that her act is and act of faith. Like this woman, faith is us looking at Mr. Grace (Jesus) and Grace looks back at us and says, "That is faith!". Faith is defined by God.
We may think that a lot of things we do is equated as faith but faith is only faith if He says it is. Other than that, we're just doing something we think God will be pleased with instead of what He is actually pleased with. This isn't relationship. This is religion! Following a set of principles absent relationship with the person.
Faith is an active experience in relating with God. It's not methodical or static like how most "of faith" may look like. It is motile, it can grow, organic, cultivateable if you would say. You can't read a book, go to seminary or listen to a sermon and get more faith. You can get more encouraged or more insight on the "subject" but it is far from it, a "subject". Faith is the ecstatic response to what has been given to us, grace. Faith can only come through relating with Mr.Grace!
Religion is following principles absent relationship.
Imagine you're really thirsty and you're at a waterfall. You have a cup in your hand and to quench your thirst, you go toward the waterfall to get it filled, drink from it and quench your thirst.
Grace - Here, the waterfall, an endless supply of what can quench your thirst and can satisfy your need, is grace. God's favor and goodness over your life is endless and will never run out on you.
Willpower - The cup is willpower/participation. A medium, a container, a tool to receive what God has for you. You can't use willpower in hopes it'll quench your thirst as much as you can't eat a cup and have your thirst satisfied. In fact, eating a cup would hurt you... hahaha
Faith - When you go to the waterfall, drink from it, that is faith. And those words have to come from God, your Father Himself, or else you'd be seeking for acknowledgement and affirmation from your works of "faith" (more like the tenacity of your willpower) instead of His voice of truth and love.
Earlier I suggested that faith is a more liquid like substance. That it can grow. Well here, I'd like to further suggest, what if you had a bigger container? The variable here is the size of the container. The waterfall will always be there, it remains the same yesterday, today and forever, however our participation can increase. The gospel is the invitation for anyone to live in the abundance of His grace, but we decide how much of that and how much of the expression of that, do we want to experience in our daily lives.
We decide how much we want.
Faith is not neglecting our state of life we're in or what we're facing. It is not us turning a blind to our problems and ignoring it. Faith isn't denying reality, it is believing in a reality far higher than our situational circumstances which is a favor you're doing yourself.
In our prayers we may be feeling the weight of a present emotion or feeling defeated, and God understands that, however God has invited us to partner with Him and co-labor with heaven to bring about the changes we desire in our life. Faith is resting from a place of victory and not striving for it.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:15-16
Let us accept that invitation, come boldly to Him to receive grace and be led by Holy Spirit to bring about His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. (Galatians 5:8, Luke 11:2)
The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. - Anne Lamott
We so easily panic and turn to fear driven actions whenever we don't have sometime in our lives quite figured out. We want to schedule things and make sure they are gonna work out the way we planned it. However, if you've lived for awhile now, staking your hope and dreams on such an idea will only lead to misery which then many don't try to find out what they believed wrong but instead throw out the entire baby, bathtub and water when it comes to anything related with hope. People abort what God has for them for what they can't quite figure out with their lives.
Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. - Hebrews 11:1
Soak in that for a moment. That reality of faith. A confirmation of what is divinely guarenteed!
Grace is that which faith sees. It is the fuel to faith. Grace doesn't only free us from sin, it empowers us to live in righteousness. It is the very power of God that gives us the ability to what we couldn't do on our own. Grace didn't just cleanse us from sin, it took the very sin nature out of us and made us righteous. Our very being is now that of righteousness.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) - Romans 5:17*Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! - 1 Corinthians 5:17
God has given us all of Himself for us. He has poured out the entire realm of glory on us however we don't always see the manifestation of that in our lives. Asking for "more of God" isn't as accurate as "I want to drink deeper". I know it's a little bit nit picking especially when our language is limited but what I'm trying to say is that "waiting on the Lord" must be anchored in the fact that He has already given freely to us all good things.
We must move away from passively waiting, an impersonal relationship with God, if we ever want to see our life manifest the purpose and meaning it has been given through design. God wants an active relationship us. We need an active relationship with God.
Faith is the ecstatic response to what has been given to us for free, grace!
Let us come boldly to that throne of grace. Be and continuously be filled with the reality of the gospel. We are already plugged in to the source of Life. We have already been made right with God and we are in right standing with Him through Jesus Christ. Explore that union, that mystical union of being one spirit with Him. Let us be renewed by Holy Spirit day in and day out of how we see the world around us, how we see ourselves.
I pray and speak upon you that you will have an alignment shift where your mind and the reality of the kingdom of God comes in-sync. That the gospel won't be an ideological belief but a constant experience manifesting through your daily life.
I urge you to drink deeper. To explore the width, the height, the depth, of His great love for you, your identity in Him, and your purpose with Him on this earth. Rest in Him as He reveals to you more of who you are and what you are meant to do.
Bless you and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
TOPIC FINDER: I always enjoy talking with people on topics they like to converse about so if you have a "How-To" or a question related to life, leave a comment and I'll write my thoughts on it in an upcoming post. Bless you!
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