Let’s Talk About Faith

What faith is and isn’t — and the benefits of believing

What is faith?

The primary definition of faith is:

“Complete trust or confidence in someone or something” (Dictionary.com).

We have faith in many things and many people. When I walk into a dark room and flip the switch, I have faith a light will come on.

When I tell my husband I want something, I have faith he’ll do whatever it takes to get it for me. When I ask our neighbor to pick up our mail when we’re out of town, I have faith that she’ll do it.

Of course, sometimes the light doesn’t come on because the bulb has burned out, the switch is broken, or the power is out. Though it doesn’t happen often, there are times when my husband isn’t able to give me what I want. And sometimes our neighbor forgets about our mail.

This is human faith — a belief usually founded on experience that things will function as they are supposed to and people will act as expected. There’s plenty of room in human faith for an outcome different from what we expect.

Biblical faith — a “faith in God” — is different.

The Biblical definition of faith is found most clearly in Hebrews:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).

Faith is an incredible unseen spiritual force that moves God to act — but it must come from the heart and it must be absolute.

What faith is not

Usually, when we talk about faith, we focus on what it is, but to gain a true understanding of Biblical faith, you need to know what it is not.

Faith is not religion. It’s not dogma or doctrine, customs, or traditions.

Faith is not mental assent. It’s not intellectual agreement or simply knowing in your head that something is true.

Faith is not magic. It’s not a way to manipulate God or anyone else into doing what we want when they would not otherwise be willing to do that.

Faith is not an attitude. It’s not positive thinking or willing something into being simply because you want it to be so.

Faith is not mere human hope. It’s not wishful thinking or desire; it’s not just wanting something to be.

Though these things are generally good, they are not the faith God wants us to have in him.

God doesn’t want us to “hope and pray” — he wants us to pray and know.

Hope is defined as

“A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen,” (Dictionary.com).

Hope is good for the mind and creates a condition that is conducive to faith, but it is not faith.

Faith is the means by which the things we hope for are realized. It’s evidence of things not seen. It’s the confidence in and the assurance of the Word of God.

Have you ever heard someone say “seeing is believing,” meaning that they will only believe (or have faith) in something when they can see it? That doesn’t make sense.

Once something exists in our human world and we can see it, we don’t need faith in it. Faith lets you know something in your heart without ever seeing it with your eyes.

Benefits of faith

What can faith do for you that you can’t do for yourself? More than I can say. For starters, faith gives us salvation and eternal life and protects us from evil. Faith also opens the door so that healing, prosperity, peace, love, and joy can come into our lives. Faith brings answers to our prayers.

Having faith does not mean a problem-free life — far from it. Faithful or not, we all live in an imperfect world and we all must deal with pain, disappointment, and challenges.

I don’t know why a lot of horrible things happen. But I do know that if you have faith in God, you will find comfort and strength in that faith no matter what happens — and that may well be the biggest benefit of all.

Thank you for reading this excerpt from my book, Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the Night.

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