Make Your Faith Count!
“Make Your Faith Count!” (excerpt from chapter three):
Faith means trust. We see this in the classic definition of faith found in Hebrews 11: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). That phrase “being sure” translates a word that means “substance, confidence, assurance or trust.”
Faith means trusting what you can’t readily see. The person who trusts their spouse doesn’t follow them around everywhere, checking all their phone records and reading all their emails. Why? Because they don’t have to see it in order to believe. They trust their spouse. And faith means trust.
It’s the same when we talk about having faith in God. Having faith in God doesn’t mean simply believing he exists. A lot of people believe God exists. But having faith in God means trusting him. You trust his character; you trust his promises; you trust his word.
Faith involves knowledge, assent and trust. Knowledge is important because you have to know something before you can believe it. Assent is important because you must agree with what you know before you can believe it. But it is not real faith until you take that final step which is trust.
There’s a great children’s message that illustrates this truth. First, you ask the children, “Do you believe that I exist?” That’s knowledge. Then you ask them if they believe you could catch them if they fall. That’s assent. Then you ask them, “Who is willing to stand on the edge of the stage here and fall backwards into my arms?” They may have demonstrated knowledge and assent with their answers to the first two questions, but they haven’t exercised real faith until they show their trust by actually falling into your arms.
It’s the same way with God. It’s good to believe that God exists. It is good to agree that God’s word is true. But until you trust him, until you make a conscious choice to fall into his arms and rest completely in him, then you do not truly have faith.
This is an excerpt from my new book coming out this week called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
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