My child, do not lose heart in doing good, for in due time you will reap if you do not grow weary. This is your ‘due time’ My child. Let My joy be your strength. Walk in My power, My love and by My Spirit. You will see My glory unfold in your life as you continue in obedience and faith. Believe Me that this is your ‘due time’.
Galatians 6:9 Nehemiah 8:10
My child, blessed are you when you believe Me. Your faith pleases Me. People will be drawn to Me by your obedience, faith and belief in Me. Let My light shine through you today. They will know the truth and the truth will set them free.
John 8:32
My child, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you. I place My angel around those who fear Me and rescue them. You who seek Me shall not be in want of any good thing. Believe Me. Believe My Word and walk in faith.
Psalm 32:8 Psalm 34:7&10
It’s helpful to understand that while the terms faith and belief carry the same meaning when used in Scripture, this is not necessarily the case in the secular use of these terms. In the secular context one can certainly believe something whether or not he first hopes for it. So belief may differ from faith in that regard.
Can you see how our Biblical belief in God can vary dramatically from the way a worldly person is likely to perceive it? Understanding the difference between the two can help greatly when sharing with nonbelievers about belief in God.
My child, I am looking for people of faith. I am asking you to believe Me. I know your needs and the cry of your heart. Trust Me in this season of your life.
My child, My silence does not mean I am angry. When I am silent, keep trusting Me. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and expected. The conviction of things not seen. Stay strong in your conviction of My promises to you. Keep believing even when you don’t see it happening.
Hebrews 11:1
Our faith grows and develops as we cling to Him awaiting the final redemption of our body.(Romans 8:23) Faith is both a gift of God and an act of our will. We are to personally exercise faith, but the decision to do so is helped along by His gift of hunger for more of Him. It reminds me of that popular soft drink slogan, “Obey your thirst”—God wants us to step out in the “obedience by faith” to receive what He has made us thirsty for.
The proof of our faith is found in our actions, because people behave only in a manner which conforms to what they really believe. When we take action (the assurance and conviction aspects of faith), it grows. And as our faith grows, hope becomes stronger, in turn fostering greater faith, snowballing to promote growth in both our maturity and effectual use by God.
Many Christians get hope confused with faith in their thinking, believing them to be somewhat the same thing. Not so. Hope first comes into play when a promise is given (the same promise we later put our faith in). But hope is different from faith; by definition it is a desire with some expectation of fulfillment. Who hopes for something they don’t want? Anticipating something you have absolutely no desire for would be senseless! And so would hoping for something that you had absolutely no expectation of ever happening.
I might desire to have the glory and sense of accomplishment that being an Olympic runner would bring, but I have zero expectation of it ever being fulfilled. Or I might have some expectation that one day I may have to run for my life from an assailant, but I have no desire for it ever to happen. Neither scenario combines both of the underlying qualifications that make hope possible—that is, a desire along with some expectation of fulfillment. No, we must possess a desire for what we hope for. And we must also have some expectation, no matter how small, that it might be possible.
Hope is the great motivator; no accomplishment—or even action—in life is possible without hope first being present. God has set the following progression in stone: first hope is born in our heart through the promise of the Gospel. Then in drawing us to Himself, God gives us the gift of faith by which we act on that hope. Through faith we receive His promise, being born again and becoming a new creation. Justification, righteousness, reconciliation, redemption and sanctification are all ours solely by the grace of God as we act on His promise by receiving Christ.(John 1:12) But ultimately it is a lifestyle of faith, validated by obedience, by which we obtain the fullness of that promise.(Philippians 3:13-14)
The Christian faith isn’t just another religion wherein one must try to earn enough brownie points to get to heaven. Every religion on the face of the planet operates in this paradigm, but not so with Christianity. Rather, our faith is based on a living, vital relationship with our Creator Himself. He understands us, and has made provision for our sin.
But the nature of this provision is difficult to comprehend—and sometimes even harder to accept—because it flies in the face of what we typically learn about religion through our life experience (what Paul calls the “elementary principles of the world”).(Colossians 2:8, 20-21)
Being inbred in man’s psyche, these “elementary principles” intuitively serve as the foundation of our efforts to please God. But He has provided something better than a host of rules and regulations to deal with our sinful nature. It is the Spirit who gives the kind of life the law never could!(2 Corinthians 3:6) Still, there exists within each of us a basic instinct to rely on law in our attempt to live for God. And a better understanding of the nature of law sheds great light on why we behave this way.
My child, listen to Me and obey Me. Fight the good fight of faith. Draw near to Me and do not fear. I am your Rock and Redeemer. I am your Strong Tower. I go before you and will rescue you out of the hand of your enemies.