When I began my first business it was truly a step of faith on my part. At the time I had a good job and made a high salary and benefits, but I did not have any savings. Leaving all of that and starting my own business without adequate funding meant that it would necessitate that I hit the ground running and would need to make money as soon as I came out of the gate or face financial disaster. I was confident that I could do it, but no one else thought it was a good idea. My wife was livid about it and did not want me to quit my high paying job as a plant manager. In fact when I resigned she would not speak to me for two weeks. Her mother however was a different story, she expressed complete faith in me and I can still clearly remember her telling others. “If Bob makes up his mind to start a business he will be successful, end of discussion”. I greatly appreciated her faith in me at the time, and still remember it vividly and I will treasure her expressing faith in me literally until the day I die.
As lowly humans we appreciate someone expressing faith in us, but with God, it is more serious; having faith is absolutely essential to our salvation. The Bible tells us that it is “impossible” to please God without faith. When you think about it, that is one strong statement, “Impossible to please God without faith”. Hmmm Have you ever doubted? Faith is the only mandatory and essential response of man to the grace of God. Faith means to believe and embodies the idea of trust and confidence. On the surface it seems quite difficult to develop faith when it is described in the Bible as, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”, but it is easier to develop faith than one might imagine if more than a simple cursory thought process is utilized to examine this subject.
I think at one time or other everyone doubts God to some extent: some more than others. I have far too many faults to innumerate, but I do have very strong faith in my God. How did I obtain strong faith in “things not seen”, and how do I maintain it? I can think of three things that I believe help me in that regard. I have an inordinate amount of self discipline; I feel no need to follow the crowd; and the third is that I am indeed a logical person. I think those three things are helpful to having strong faith.
Why would self discipline be important? Because I discipline myself to study the Bible every day. According to the Bible, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you “wise for salvation through faith”. The Bible states that the Bible is “living”, and that it is “sharper than any two-edged sword”, able to cut to your very soul. I have read the Bible through and through numerous times and I carefully study it daily, and it helps me develop and nurture my faith enormously. I know that it is “living”, because I turn right to the passages that I need in difficult times. God speaks to me through His word and guides me every day through the Bible.
I also discipline myself to find times to pray. I like to go to the woods and sit on a deer stand and pour my heart out to God; other times I might lay in bed at night for hours at a time praying. Again the Bible teaches that prayer is necessary to strengthen our faith because we need God’s help to defeat Satan in our lives. Prayer works to strengthen faith and we must pray often. In fact the Bible tells us to pray constantly. Forget about bothering God with insignificant issues. God has plenty of capacity and wants to be involved with everything concerning us.
Finally, I discipline myself to attend church every Sunday and forego all of those “fun” things Satan tempts me to do on Sunday instead of attending church, where I can further strengthen my faith by being in the presence of other believers. This is not to say that I feel a need to follow the crowd. Peer pressure can hinder one’s faith enormously, particularly if one hangs out with the wrong crowd.
I have often been criticized by others for not really caring too much what others think about my religious convictions or anything else really. I am smart enough to realize that when I die I will face God alone and I can assure you that their opinion will not make one whit of difference to my eternal salvation.
Consider all the patriarchs who steadfastly maintained faith in God even when they appeared to be insane to their colleagues. Noah building an ark, Abraham preparing to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, Moses challenging mighty pharaoh, David and Goliath, the list is long. Through faith they overcame their fleshly weaknesses and as with the walls of Jericho amazing things happened when faith was unquestionably put in almighty God and not in human wisdom. When they lost their faith predictable things happened as when Peter attempted to walk on water with the Lord. He started off just fine, but then he momentarily took His eyes off the Lord and lost faith and immediately began to sink and Jesus had to rescue him. Faith is about keeping our eyes always on the Lord and never taking them off him even for a moment.
I use logic to make most decisions. I have an analytical mind and logically I just do not see how anyone can deny the existence of God. I objectively review the concept of God and realize that God’s intellect, which is capable of creating our universe as we know it, is far beyond my pay scale. Just as I have a greater intellect than an ant, God has a greater intellect than us, and I am comfortable that I will never fully understand the “how’s” and “why’s” of this world and life, and therefore do not waste one precious moment questioning impossible issues.
Logically I look at my life prior to and after Jesus came into it and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ’s love for us is incredible. He transformed me and I am living proof that there is a loving God and a beautiful thing called grace.
Read your Bible, pray, fellowship with other believers, and worship Jesus Christ the “author and finisher of our faith” and He will be pleased. Further understand that with faith comes power. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed we could tell a mountain to move and it would obey. Imagine what you can accomplish with your own life if you will just put a little effort into strengthening your faith.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible
to please Him, for he who comes to
God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek Him.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!