As much as we would like to think that “faith” is a complex phenomenon, it’s not. Sometimes, we want to be excused from demonstrating faith because it can make us vulnerable and in some cases, just makes us look plain ole’ stupid. Nevertheless, I’ve come to accept that faith is simple, faith is totally required by God, and not having faith in Jesus Christ is sin. In any given situation, we either demonstrate faith or we don’t and we either trust God or we don’t.
Faith puts us on and in the path of God’s blessings requiring us to believe God before He shows us anything visible or tangible.
Like everyone else, I’m often faced with giant problems (financial, business decisions, family, health, and ministry) and from time-to-time they seem insurmountable. I remember a time back when I was crying (literally) to the Lord because I really wanted to commit to tithing as the first of my increase and not after I paid the bills that scared me the most. You know the ones like rent/mortgage, water, food, and electricity. I seemed to never have enough to give my tithes (yes, I treated my tithe like it was another bill I had to pay). So, as I was crying to the Lord, he spoke in that still, simple, convicting voice, laden with compassion and love: “Either you trust me or you don’t.” I came to realize that it wasn’t my tithes I couldn’t afford, it was the lifestyle and other commitments I had created that I couldn’t afford. Since that time, God’s grace and following the discipline of the Holy Spirit has helped me to stay committed. Even though I’ve stumbled several times over the years, I’ve always returned to that commitment of tithing. I constantly remind myself that “either I trust God or I don’t.”
Over the years, tithing has helped me to see God as my source and not as one of my resources.
To get to a place where trusting God is so “natural” that the world thinks we’re crazy, here’s what scripture says we should do:
Know It: We must study God’s Word. Romans 10:17 says “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (NIV). We can’t circumvent this and we have to spend time learning the promises of God. We must know the word of God in order to know the victory, authority, and peace God spoke concerning our lives.
Speak It: We must speak the language of Faith. Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (KJV). It’s not enough to know the word of God (which is faith-filled promises) it is necessary to speak it. Since we are going to say something anyway, the question is “will we speak what is based on God’s word?” God has promised to keep His word, so speaking anything else, results in His silence.
Live It: We must demonstrate actions of faith. James 2:17 says “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (NIV). You must speak and behave according to the word of the Lord. Faith in action is when a couple prepares a nursery because the doctor said the mother-to-be is pregnant. Faith in action is quitting your day job after God has positioned and blessed you to start your own business. Faith in action says “By his stripes I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5 KJV) when the medical reports say otherwise. Faith in action starts a ministry for battered men when everyone is focused on battered women. We must demonstrate our faith with deeds. This increases our courage to continue in and with faith.
Challenge: Let us employ these three actions (Know God’s Word, Speak God’s Word, and Live God’s Word) and get to a place where trusting God is so natural that it doesn’t even occur to us not to trust Him.