In the beginning God - a reasonable faith

Faith is not what the little boy is reported to have said, namely that faith is believing something you know is not true! No, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”  (Hebrews 11:1).  To say that we have faith in a person, is to say more than that we know things about them, there is that undefinable but nevertheless real sense of trust. The Greek word has the sense not only of  believe in, but also cleave to, trust in and rely on.  We are meant to know Him, God talked with Adam  in the Garden before the fall (Genesis 2), and Peter tells that the believer, though he does not see Him, nevertheless loves Him (1 Peter 1:8). In fact we are to love Him with all we are, and this of course includes the mind (Mark 12:30).

So then faith in God is much more that rational knowledge about God, but the mind matters. In Hebrews 11:6 we read  “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  And part of loving God with all our mind, is about working through the doubts that we may have from time to time, doubts about His existence, doubts about His goodness.  There are skeptics everywhere and sometimes their doubts and skepticism can be infectious. What we must not do with doubts is to simply suppress them, though there are times we may need to put some of them on the back burner. There are answers, for “we have not believed cunningly devised fables (2 Peter 1:16). When we don't know, we need to admit it, and commit to finding out. There are many resources, including other Christians!

I like to think of my relationship as building bricks in a wall of faith. We are meant to experience people in relationship, and that involves feelings. We don't rely on feeling, because they come and go and are unreliable, but if we never have them, there is something wrong! Our relationship with God is intended involve two way communication. Jesus tells that “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27). He speaks mostly through His Word underlining a verse here, a promise there. And since “Faith come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17), we need, on a regular basis,  to get our noses into God's feedbag (the Bible).  When we claim a promise and He comes through it is another brick in our wall of faith. When He comforts us though His Word or His Spirit, it's another brick. I experience Him most in Worship, for “He inhabits the praises of His people” (Psalm 22:3).

Father, Your Word tells us that we will search for You and find You when we search for You with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13). It's not that when we do this, we are clever enough to find You, but rather that that is when You show Yourself to us.  There are promises Lord that You have given me, that have not yet materialized, but my wall of faith, and my experience with You are such that I have learned to trust You. They say You are never early, but also never late. Continue to build faith in me Lord as I wait in Jesus Name Amen