What Faith Does

Faith makes life possible in both natural and spiritual ways. For example, by faith we pursue education or training, believing it will help us get a job.

By faith, I pursued a relationship with the man I would marry, believing him to be trustworthy. He proposed, I accepted, and he proved true in fifty-two years of marriage.

Faith is a basic requirement. By faith, we believe God exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

People of faith are steady, not flighty. They’re focused on fulfilling a desire or goal. We’ll look at examples in the “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11).

Faith can help us do three things: 1) Persevere, 2) Endure, and 3) Never Give Up.

Perhaps because I’ve lived in the Southwest desert, I admire Noah and his three sons for building a huge ark in a barren land. There was no water in sight, and rain was unheard of (Genesis 6:5-9:29). What an example of perseverance (Hebrews 11:7).

Mankind was so wicked, God was sorry He had created them. Yet, Noah was recorded as a blameless and righteous man who walked with God (Genesis 6:5-9). He was a misfit!

When you’re swimming against the current of wickedness, continue to persevere. God sees you, too. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous . . . (Psalm 34:15).

From childhood to old age, Moses is an example of endurance. His life was full of challenge and change (Hebrews 11:23-29). He wrote the first five books of the Bible, so we learn about his life there.

David was the man who never gave up. As a young shepherd, he was anointed to be King (1 Samuel 16). It was years before this happened, and often he was running for his life. As king, he had an affair with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and even had Uriah murdered (2 Samuel 11-12).

But when God sent the Prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin, he humbled himself and asked God for forgiveness. Read his prayer in Psalm 51.

By faith, choose to persevere, endure, and never give up. That kind of faith will be rewarded on Judgement Day when we will be judged for our deeds (Revelation 20:11-15).

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