As I was sitting here drinking my morning cup of coffee I noticed the word “Faith” on my mug and my mind started to wander and contemplate “Faith”. I thought of those I went to church with for years that I’ve seen drift back into the world, back into sin that leaves them happy for a moment but broken 95% of the time – and I asked myself “Why?” “How?” – They sat on the same pew I did, heard the same messages …

I love Praise and Worship. And there’s nothing better than when the presence of the Holy Spirit is so thick at a Praise and Worship service that it’s tangible. You get the Holy Ghost goosebumps, you cry, you laugh, you “feel” the presence of Jesus in the room.

But what about the days in between Sunday and those powerful worship services? The days you don’t “feel” God. (I think this is where we lose some of those who base their walk on feelings.) It’s those days that you get the bad health report, the day your finances aren’t there, the day your kid rebels …. those are the days you truly have FAITH if you stand strong on God’s word and refuse to let the devil have a stronghold in your mind.

Hebrews 11 is a chapter with great examples of Faith. As I read that chapter this morning I saw one common theme… obedience. Simple obedience. Taking that first step even when you don’t know how it’s going to end. Noah – he built the ark when there was no sign of rain. He built the ark when everyone else laughed at and mocked him. Yet, he continued to build – in Faith. Abraham left his home having no idea where God was taking him – but believed that if he went, he’d receive the inheritance promised him. And look at Sarah – way too old to have a child – but God promised her one, so she believed that God would do what he said he would do and she gave birth at an old age, and after she’d made a mess of things trying to take matters into her own hands.

We live in a fast-paced society with instant gratification at our fingertips… so the idea of Faith becomes foreign because often times God is telling us to “wait”… “Wait on me and my perfect timing.”

End of day – the Lord continually brings me back around to this one thing…. reading the bible. If you don’t know what God’s promises are, you can’t stand on them. If you can’t pray the word, you feel like your prayers are empty.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

As a child you would get excited about your birthday – knowing you would receive gifts (confidence in things hoped for) – but you didn’t know what the gifts would be (the surprise) – Faith in God is much the same. It is the confidence based on past experience that God ‘s new and fresh surprises will surely be ours. So we wait, and we stand, and we believe. Even when we don’t feel like it. ❤️