Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Isaac Watts
Devotional: 4 Key Truths About Faith
Faith is one of those words that people, including many Christians, say freely. In a way, the way faith is used and looked at by many Christians is really no different from the word love. If you turn on any radio station or you turn on the TV or log on to the Internet, you would be exposed to the word love. It seems that the more people use it, the more people lose sight of what it really means.
Faith just like love has a real meaning and a core truth to it. Unfortunately, faith just like love, through sheer repetition often loses its power because we become confused. Faith is one of the most powerful acts you can do as a human being. In fact, faith is the only thing that can give you eternal life. It is not your actions, how good of a person you are, or how highly other people think of you. It is your faith. In other words, it is your connection to God and your relationship to Him that forms the gateway to God’s grace that saves you. Here are four key truths about faith.
Truth #1: You don’t need a lot of faith, you just need faith
In illustrating the power of faith, Jesus told his disciples that if they only had faith the size of the mustard seed, they can command a mountain to jump into the sea. That is power. But notice the size of the faith that Jesus required. He didn’t say that you needed a lot of faith. He didn’t say your faith must be past a certain point. All he said was even if your faith was the size of a mustard size, all these amazing things can happen.
What Jesus is saying is that you either have faith or you don’t have faith. When you have faith, all sorts of amazing things can happen in your life and the world around you. If you don’t have faith, those things don’t happen. It really is that simple. You don’t need a lot of faith, you just need faith.
Truth #2: Faith transforms how you see people
When you trust fully in Jesus, the Holy Spirit changes your heart. Instead of looking at what is merely possible, from the world’s perspective, we learn to lean on God’s power instead. When we trust in God’s power, we are able to see the very best in people. They might not act the way they should or living way below their potential but our faith enables us to see how God sees our brothers and sisters and have more faith in them. When they sense this faith, this encourages them to live and behave based on their highest potential. When we expect the best of others, they step up to our expectations.
Truth #3: Faith transforms how you see yourself
Just as Gideon was able to transform how he saw the sorry state of Israel into one of victory, faith also transformed how he saw himself. Let’s face it, people who doubt themselves rarely achieve victories. People who expect to fail, fail because they don’t even step up to the challenge. They’ve given up before they even tried. When you have faith, it will transform how you see yourself. It will transform how you perceive your capabilities. It will transform your attitude regarding your strengths and limitations. Indeed, according to second Corinthians, we become new creatures through faith. We become transformed into how God sees us. However, the key to that transformation lies solidly in our hands. We have to turn that key. That key is called faith.
Truth #4: Faith is like a muscle
Faith is like a muscle. It can only grow if you exercise it. How do you exercise faith? When you are surrounded by challenges abd see nothing but catastrophe and disaster, that’s a golden opportunity to have faith in Jesus Christ. When you see nothing but potential loss or you are in pain, that is a powerful blessing because you can choose to have faith. The more your trust in the Lord; the more you exercise your faith and the stronger your faith becomes. This is a worthy project to undertake because you need a strong faith to abide in Christ.
Abiding in Christ and staying with Him and in Him is what will save you. The only thing that will save you and deliver eternal life is your faith in Jesus Christ, nothing else. Start exercising it today by looking at the things that challenge you; by looking at the things that give you a lot of pain and choose to have faith. Choose to believe that God doesn’t want you to be in pain. God wants to deliver you, and you only need to trust Him.
