Hebrews 11:1 AMP
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].
We use the word faith so frequently in our christian vocabulary but what is faith? The amplified bible says its a title deed and confirmation of things hoped for. The Bible says of Abraham the father of faith that he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. This means that the foundation and assurance of our faith is not just anything we imagine and hope for but rather what God says.
Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is not presumption meaning that we do not take a step into the unknown without the promises of God. You cannot jump off a building in faith that God will catch you because he loves you unless God gave you a very specific word to do so. We sometimes get discouraged when we have the expectation that God will do something and it does not happen but the truth is we made a presumption. This is why it is important to be led by the Spirit of God and not our emotions or our own understanding. The bible says “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
We also love to say “we are living by faith” and mostly we say this to mean we have no source of income and thus we are waiting for God to provide. The truth is, as believers we ought to live by faith always and not by sight. This simply means we have to read the word believe it and then walk in obedience to what it says no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, that’s living by faith.
Abraham believed God and he did not weaver even when his body and Sarah’s were wasting away and they had no child.
Note that Abraham died while still believing things that God promised and yet Abraham had not seen them manifest in the physical.
When you think about it, in Joshua 1:8 God was simply telling Joshua to live by faith that is read the word, meditate on it and do as it says and so should we.
Reflections.
What is one promise from the Bible that keeps you going?
What are some things we presume about God in the name of faith yet its simply a presumption we are making.
Do you live by faith or by sight?
