Faithbuilders

In times of trials, whether they are financial, spiritual, health, realationships with our fellow man or other forms of trials, we as human beings are often faced with times of doubt, fear, discouragement, or feelings of defeat. As a result,we often question ourselves as to our worth, or impact upon the world, and perhaps we even question the age old question, "what is the point"?

We have to deal with those around us who have little or no faith in our abilities or desires to accomplish something which can in turn cause us to lose faith in ourselves. The very nature of being human with all of the accompanying frailties can be stymying, but we can find encouragement in the words of the Bible, friends, family members, and the remembrances of past accomplishments that we have made at times of extreme duress, or by looking at the accomplishments of those around us who may be functioning under even worse circumstances than our own.

The Bible in Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the "substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."In essence this is saying that faith is not an ephemeral thing, but something of substance, as real as any physical object with a tangible quality. In the Amplified version of this scripture it likens faith to the "title deed" to the things that we hope for. For instance, if I were to give you the title or deed to my home or my car, you would have absolutely no doubt that the object in question belonged to you legally, rightfully and would in no way be questioned by any authority. Therefore if we are to take these words and apply them to faith, then faith is the title deed to the things that we hope for.  It is the evidence, or the proof that the things that we hope for are in fact our own, providing that we believe and adhere to the supernatural laws concerning faith.

It has been said that if you possess the faith of a mustard seed, a tiny seed smaller than a sesame seed, that we can in fact order a mountain to remove itself from it's place and be cast into the sea. Now considering that we do not see many mountains being cast into the sea, can we assume then that faith, this incredible substance is in short supply? The question then becomes how do we get this faith, and how do we increase our faith enough to attain these things that we hope for? When we are sick, financially unstable, suffering through the death of a loved one, or a nasty divorce, and we are hoping for health, financial security, comfort, or reconciliation, we must realize that hope preceeds faith. It is the first step to having faith. What must  follow is the total belief, devoid of any doubt that we have the right and the ability to attain that which we have now hoped for.

One of my favorite examples in the Word of God is the story of Peter walking on the water. Now Peter was a simple man, who was a fisherman and who knew the seas and how water works. His logical mind and all his experiences told him that it was impossible for a man to walk on the surface of the water. By any standards he would have been considered wise to have come to those conclusions, and perhaps more than a little foolish to think that he could ever defy the laws of nature and all that he knew to step out onto the water believing that he would do anything but sink, yet Peter got out of the boat at Jesus' bequest and while keeping his eyes fixed upon Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, he let go of all that he knew to be true, disregarded any fears, or comments from others who may have been saying things like "what are you crazy? Surely all your years as a fisherman and a human being have taught you that just as gravity and other forces and laws of nature decree, you will sink!" he stepped onto the water with a title deed in his hand stating that he, Peter, a common man, could and would walk across the surface of that water to Jesus. But just as so many of us do, when the storm kicked up around him by the devil distracted him from his goal he immediately let go of that title deed and began to doubt and question and as a result he took his eyes off his goal, and with his faith gone...his title deed, the rights to what he had hoped for were revoked, and he sank into the water like stone. He had already taken steps onto that water, he had the deed in his hand, he knew for a fact that he could do it as he had already begun the process, but when he let go of that faith, that deed to the thing he hoped for, he sank. No one took it from him, he merely let it go and let all that he had been taught and had experienced take over and pull him down. When he refocused and realized this he took back the title deed and stepped up onto the waters surface defying all that he knew and all that he had experienced in his life up to that point, and he focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and he took back what was rightfully his, ignoring the raging storm all around him and he walked across the surface of that water and into the arms of the Lord.

Now I apply this to your life. You are feeling sicker than you have ever felt in your life, and the hope wells up in you to overcome the illness that is ravaging your body just as that storm would have ravaged his, you close your eyes and say "Lord, give me the title deed to my healing and let me walk through this storm without paying a bit of mind to what I see, or what my experience has taught me about others who have tried to overcome this", and you fix your eyes upon the author and finisher of your faith and you stand, and walk over the waters of the surety that you will be destroyed by the ravages of this illness. You ignore the shouts from the disbelievers and you believe the words of Jesus who says that all things are possible to him that believes and you disregard the storm that the devil has kicked up around you that in your knowledge and experience would mean certain death, and you walk through the storm, fearless, certain and fully believing in the promises of a supernatural law that supercedes the laws of nature and into the arms of the author and finisher of your faith...the substance of all that you hope for.

You hear of stories everyday where someone has beaten cancer, or heart disease, or any number of other fully defined causes of a sure death, and you say "wow that was a miracle!" And you fail to realize that God has promised that He is no respecter of persons and that what He has done for one He will gladly do for another, never realizing the potential that you have for that same miracle. All it takes is faith.... that title deed.

So when you are approaching what seems to be an impossibilty, when the Dr's tell you nothing can be done, that you will surely die, remeber Peter walking on the water. Fix your eyes on Jesus and remember that He has the power...all the power, and that believing Him is all that He asks of you. Walk boldly, unafraid, ignoring the storm around you into the healing of your body, your broken relationships, your poverty into the waiting arms of your Lord and Saviour. Be an overcomer...have faith...it's the title deed to all that you hope for.