“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
The antidote to fear is confidence in God, and that comes through faith. Fear hangs over our head like a constant vulture, ready to devour us. In the book of Hebrews, faith is the essential “engine” of the Christian life. It moves beyond mere head knowledge to a deep trust that results in action and endurance. Chapter 11 describes this best. It is often called the “Hall of Faith.”
Fear can be described as a terror of the unknown… worry, doubt and concern about the future. Most of what we worry about never happens and whatever does happen is far from being as difficult as we had imagined.
Affliction is temporary while Glory is eternal. The only way to overcome fear is through faith. Biblical faith is active trust and reliance on God’s character and promises, not just intellectual belief, serving as an assurance of unseen realities and the foundation for salvation, demonstrated through obedience and action, growing through hearing God’s word, and enabling believers to overcome obstacles and live by God’s truth rather than sight. It’s a gift from God, a response to His initiative, bringing peace, purpose, and victory through Jesus Christ, as expressed in Hebrews 11:1 as “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.
Faith resides at the core of Christianity and the Christian life. While the Bible has much to say about it, faith is a challenging concept to define. A biblical definition of faith reaches beyond mere belief—the simple acknowledgment that God exists—into the realm of trust. Genuine faith involves abandoning all human reliance on self-efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, His actions, and His promises, as revealed in His Word.
The apostle Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith does not put trust in bank account balances, headline news, or the doctor’s report. As Scripture says, “We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT). When the world seems to be falling apart, our faith stands secure on the rock-solid promises of God.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where does your faith score?
by John Grant
used by permission
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