In the life of a Christian, there can be no more misconstrued subject than the subject of faith.
What is faith? It is many things. The power to perform miracles or to have miracles performed. The ability to move on through the great stresses of life. The determination to call into existence the things which cannot be seen, heard or determined.
But faith, in its purest, most basic, and most important form, is the knowledge of possibility. Not for miracles. Not for answers. Not for power or spiritual validity. It is the knowledge that God is present in our everyday lives and that with Him all things are possible – even when those things made possible by Him do not come to pass.
This pure form of faith is in itself the most frustrating for it requires us to forego the aforementioned possibilities and remain steadfast in the conceived knowledge – knowledge created by our own understanding of who God is and His nature toward man – that He is with us throughout life and its disturbances.
This faith is the hardest to keep.
Our ever-present spiritual need for an ever-present spiritual connection is what is tried on an ever-present basis.
Faith to move mountains, heal the sick, cast out demons, speak prosperity of various kinds into existence, can be wavered without giving reservation that God may not exist or care for our betterment or the betterment of others. If answers are not delivered through our faith in various matters, we opt to believe that God’s will is still in play. We believe that His kindness has said “no” to our requests or demands. And it is for this reason that our faith in future matters continues.
This faith is based on physical demands for physical answers through spiritual avenues. But this faith is not the basis of our spiritual dysfunction.
The simplest of faith, the very faith that God exists and is present throughout every moment of our lives, is what is on trial. Not by those around us or from the doubt of society, but from our own mind. Our ever-present spiritual need for an ever-present spiritual connection is what is tried on an ever-present basis.
Faith is misconstrued as an ability. An ability for power – within or without. And this confusion or misinformation is the basis for the destruction of the foundation of faith. For if our faith is based upon our declarations and expectations, then we allow for the outcomes – the removing of mountains, the healings and miracles, the answers to our demands – to determine the state, even the existence, of our faith.
Faith at its very root system, however, is the force of our relationship with God. Faith cannot be based upon activity, for it must be grounded and solidified to sustain you in times of His inactivity.
The greatest example He has provided of this faith relationship is through the view of marriage. Any good natured, intelligent man does not marry for mere material reasons. He marries a woman because he loves her and she loves him equally. It is this belief in their love – this faith that each other share in this feeling or emotion so strongly – that they step forward to become “one flesh” and vow to continue accordingly until death. And it is this faith that sustains them. It is not the actions – cooking, providing, making love, kind words, emotional sentiments – that keep them together. Rather it is this knowledge that they will always be with each other and for each other. These aforementioned actions are most relevant, however, because how can you prove your love without showing it? It is not possible. But does this mean husband and wife will not fight, have emotional distresses caused by each other, or have disturbances in life because of this founded love? No. It is through this faith – this love – that they are able to survive and build upon the relationship. The testing of their love toward one another. And it will be tested, much like our faith in God.
Our faith in God requires action – from us and from Him. He has provided enough for faith to be established – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, yet He continues to provide peace, joy, goodness, and many other blessings in our life. Even His trials, the disturbances in our life, are provided to bring us closer to Him. To build our faith in Him. To help us rely on Him. To teach us that faith is not always in the outcome of our prayers, but in the temperament of our being. It is the simple knowledge that He is and always will be with us. To hear our prayers and to bottle our tears, even when His response is silence or contrary to our hopes, demands and pleas.
The most basic form of faith is the most complex. It is this foundational faith that provides the energy to pursue works and the knowledge to make demands in His name.