Faith = Hope + Love

O Ye of Little Faith

          “O ye of little faith.” How often do you hear people say “if only”? How many times have you said it yourselves? For those who seem to be looking desperately for an answer, they may say this often. They want things to change but keep going back through the same cycle over and over and over again. This is living in a state of insanity – doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

          Well then, where does someone begin to change this cycle? First, they need to know what faith is. Second, they need to determine what is preventing them from having the faith the Bible talks about. Third, it will help to know what will result as one's faith continues to grow.

Faith Is

          It is important to understand the meaning and reasoning behind what faith is. Without knowing what faith is, how can someone handle each obstacle or trial that will ultimately test one's faith. Nor will they be able to grow towards the desired outcome God longs for them to attain.

          How does God's Word define faith? Hebrews 11:1-2 (NASB) defines faith this way. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” It is not a blind faith as others may think. It is a faith based on a relationship with Jesus Christ and believing in His promises even though there may be no evidence that the promises are being fulfilled.

Obstacles to Faith

           Remember when the disciples were crossing the sea and a great storm came while Jesus was asleep. They all went to Him and woke Him up to tell Jesus that they were about to perish and begging Him to save them. What was Jesus' response before he rebuked the wind and the sea? He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26 NASB)

          Then there is the famous Peter walks on the water story. He realizes what he is doing and looks around himself to see the wind which frightens him and he starts to sink. As he does, he cries out to Jesus to save him. Jesus' response to Peter was “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31 NASB)

          Lastly, there is the time right after the feeding of the 4,000 when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. Coming to his disciples after separating from them, He warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples thought he was referring to them forgetting to bring bread. Jesus said to them, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?” (Matthew 16:8 NASB) As He continued to speak, they realized He was not referring to the leaven of bread but to the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

          So, here alone are three obstacles a person will face as they grow in faith. Fear, doubt, and wrong teaching. Think about it. Who was each confrontation by Jesus directed towards? It was directed towards the disciples who walked with Jesus. If they walked with Jesus literally and experienced these, what makes anyone else think that they will not experience them or are immune to experiencing them when it comes to growing in faith.

          It is clear that obstacles will be experienced in the building of one's faith because God's Word clearly says this will happen. All throughout the Bible we read example after example of how people were continually tested. To see a list of examples, read Hebrews chapter 11. Pick up the Bible and start reading. You are almost bound to end up reading about a person's faith being tested almost anywhere you start reading in the Bible.

Results of Faith

          What is the purpose for having faith? What are the results of following a path of faith? By knowing what this purpose is and what the results are supposed to be will give any person the hope they need facing any situation.

          As written earlier, the purpose for having faith is to have the assurance of things hoped for. And this assurance is what gives people the hope they need to gain the courage to make the right choices over the wrong ones. That people would not give into temptations or persuasion or influence of others.

          2 Peter 1:5-7 says when a person applies all diligence with faith the final result is love. So in essence, it takes faith to have hope and experience love. And it is even listed in this order in 1 Corinthians 13:13. And if one wants to experience the greatest of these three, then they need to be willing to go through the whole process instead of expecting it just to happen.

          And the ultimate result of faith is salvation. 1 Peter 1:9 (NASB) expresses this thought by saying “obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” Salvation is based on faith that Jesus came because He loved us in order for us to be saved from the sins that separate us from Him. This is the hope and longing that is in the soul. That a personal relationship with God would develop. This is there whether a person wants to accept it or not.

          Are you willing to walk through this process of having the faith to encourage the hope to experience love? If this is what you want but think you will struggle getting there, find someone to come alongside of you to encourage you when the times are rough and to celebrate with you when you walked through that choice.