Hebrews 11:1(BSB) tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.” Our Heavenly Father created the universe in such a way that everything, from the smallest to the greatest, is produced by His faith. There isn’t one thing that exists today that doesn’t have its origin in God. He spoke things into existence, and those things had no other choice but to obey His command. This is how He designed faith to work! It’s not some mythical illusion. Our faith in God is a pillar that supports the foundation of our lives, and without it, our lives would collapse very rapidly. Faith is the exercise of our minds and hearts toward things that we hope to receive but can’t yet see with physical eyes. Our trust should be so fully persuaded in the goodness of God that we don’t need to see them. When we believe God’s Word, this faith gives substance to what He promised. This is phenomenally good news, and there’s more!
As God’s children, 2Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we are required to walk by faith and not by sight. This means that we are to live in such a way that our belief in God’s power and goodness isn’t dependent on the circumstances and conditions we may be facing. This is the challenging part for many of us, because the world is full of chaos and confusion, and things feel very unsettling. Some of us are nervous and insecure, but God tells us in Philippians 4:6(BSB), “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Anxiety is a form of fear, and Heavenly Father doesn’t want His kids to be fearful. He wants us to have faith in Him, and trust that He is going to honor His Word and take care of us.
As adults, we have matured physically and hopefully mentally and emotionally, but we’re still children, and we will always be children in the eyes of our Father. As His children, He requires us to grow up into the full stature of our Big Brother, Jesus Christ. God expects our faith in Him to be such that we depend on Him for everything. He’s our sufficiency. We must stand firm in faith and continue to seek God by acknowledging Him in all our ways, but sometimes, we don’t do this. We don’t acknowledge God in all our ways, but we lean on our emotions and acknowledge them instead of the truth of God’s Word. If our emotions tell us to feel sad, not only do we feel down and out, but we start believing that God won’t take care of us, and that He won’t direct our paths as He said in Proverbs 3:6.
In order to take authority in the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth that God has told us must be our bread and butter. In Philippians 4:8(BSB), through the Apostle Paul, Heavenly Father is telling us how to keep our connection with Him strong, so that we are able to tap into His strength and power continually. Paul writes, “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
A pillar is an essential structure, thing, or person. This structure, thing, or person is so impeccably reliable that you can have confidence in it’s support. Faith is the pillar that supports and holds up our relationship with God. We know how extremely important faith is to God because Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without it, we can’t please Him. We must be clear that our faith in God brings us into alignment with His Will, and it also brings us in alignment with His faith. He’s the One with the plan. Faith belongs to Him, and our relationship with Him allows us to know His thoughts, His directives, and His instruction for achieving His purpose. It’s all about Him, and when we get on board with Him, we will see the manifestation of rewards in our lives.
Faith is the way we demonstrate our love for God, and it is also the way we express our gratitude to Him for all He has done and for all the blessings He has in store for us. When our relationship with God is not our first priority, our level of gratitude tanks, and every aspect of our being will reflect this. We become cold and distant towards Him. Cynicism sets in, and we begin to make excuses for not clinging to God through Jesus Christ. We then wake up one morning, and it seems the world is on our shoulders. We think that the answer for this heaviness is in another person, place, or thing, but it’s not so. The answer is to become reacquainted with God through a faith that is greater.
Psalm 34:10(NLT) declares, “Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.” Faith and gratitude towards God through Jesus Christ are the pillars for a rich and satisfying life. It doesn’t matter what our issues are; it can be relationships, it can be financial, physical, emotional, or mental, all these issues and more are resolved when we seek God. This means that we must spend quality time with Him daily. He’s our Father! He loves spending time with His kids, and He desires that we get to know Him intimately.
For many of us, our heart space is so full of regret, sorrow, and disappointment, that we haven’t allowed even the tiniest crack in our emotional and mental being for faith and gratitude to squeak through. The reality is that only you and I can decide to make room in our being for more of God’s love and goodness. And the only way to do this is to choose to trust and have faith in Him. Heavenly Father will not force us. We must make the decision to open our hearts to all that He has in store.
We serve a God that is perfect, brilliant, holy, righteous, and magnificent in every way. He never makes a mistake, and all power is in His hands. It is never about what God didn’t do, it’s about what we are not seeing. He has shown us how much He loves us by giving us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. We are saved from sin and rescued from darkness. Let’s remember always who God is and what He has done for us. Have faith that getting closer to Him is what you need and be thankful that He’s given us this life to share a beautiful relationship with Him and to live an eternity wrapped in His love.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible, BSB
Copyright ©2016, 2020 by Bible Hub
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
“The Pillars of Faith and Gratitude” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!