Faith

    

     "For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.  And God also declared unto prophets by his own mouth, that Christ should come.  And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good, cometh of Christ, otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.  Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ."  Moroni 7:21-24

     A question: how many readers live their life by faith?  Answer: everyone does.  You leave your home, drive a car, eat food prepared by someone unknown, etc.  It may not be a Celestial faith you live by, but it is faith.  So, with this understanding, we can move onward.

     What is "faith"?  Defined in Hebrews 11;1, and Ether 5:6 we read "the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".  Some times I like to give this definition: believing in a power you cannot see, to do a work you cannot do.  In other words, recognizing that the power of the unseen, spiritual realm is greater than those things that we see in this temporal  reality.  This belief comes to us as we seek our Lord, and experience the eternal in our lives.  Each experience, line upon line, precept upon precept, raises our awareness of the unseen, and strengthens our faith.  But it's more than blind belief; it has a much greater origin.  We have faith because of HIM.

     Another definition comes from the Greek word meaning faith: Pistis, pronounced "peace-teace.  It defines faith in a unique way: "A conviction in the truthfulness of God".  This takes the emphasis of faith from "us" to God, who is the "author and finisher of our faith".

     Everyone in known by his/her faith, or what they trust in.  For some, it's money.  Others, it's physical strength or power, or intelligence.  But where can such faith lead us?  Certainly not to God.  For faith to be effective and fruitful, it must be based upon He who IS.  2 Chronicles 20:20 reads "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."  No mention of earthly influence in this passage, but God will provide everything we need as long as we believe in him, both temporally and spiritually.  What is the greatest evidence of faith?  A man who is faithful.

     In the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus shares the parable of the mustard seed.  I won't add it here, for consideration of space, but you are encouraged to read it.  The mustard seed, among the smallest of seeds, becomes one of the greatest of herbs in size.  As humans, we tend to over analyze the mustard seed.  We think, that our faith must be smaller than the seed, because we can't move mountains, or add a cubit to our stature.  This is not what the Master meant with the parable.  His point was this: ANY faith displayed, no matter how small, will unlock the windows of Heaven!  Sometimes, we consider God to be a taskmaster that will not acknowledge our attempts until we reach a certain point in our growth.  Not so!   Consider this passage of scripture from 2 Chronicles 16:9  "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."  He is actively seeking us.

     Why do we struggle in our faith?  To put it simple terms, we too often use faith as a spare tire, instead of the steering wheel.  We want to use it as a "get of jail free" card.  But faith is supposed to lead us to greater faith, not relief from the storm.  Recall with me, this story, from Luke chapter 8: "Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples; and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.  But as they sailed he fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with fear, and were in danger.  And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the waters, and they ceased; and there was a calm.  And he said unto them, Where is your faith? and they being afraid, wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? For he commandeth even the winds and waters, and they obey him."  Was it a backhanded response from Jesus?  When a great storm arose, and Jesus is on the boat, wasn't it faith that caused the disciples to waken him?  Or was Jesus just grumpy?  Neither.  The point that the Lord is making to ALL of us is that our faith should be strong enough to trust him to take us THROUGH the storm.  This is how faith grows; and it's not always a pleasant experience.  In another story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had their faith proven IN the fire.  Perhaps they, like us, prayed for release of the trial, but God knew his plan would produce a greater faith.

     Faith is living in the reality that while we can't understand all things, God can.  Relying on him IS exercising faith.  Romans 5:1 reads "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;", and 2 Corinthians 5: "For we walk by faith, not by sight;".  By sight, we take knowledge of the visible world; our external senses are adapted to this external, visible world.  They are designed to aid us only while we remain in this tabernacle of clay.  They are not adapted to the spiritual realm.  Faith connects our spirit to our Heavenly Creator.  Only He can breach the gulf between the two. 

     So, when you next consider your faith, ask yourself this question: "Do I believe God at his word?"  If your answer is "yes", move forward, BOLDLY.  This world will only believe what it sees, and we, as the children of God, need to be that example.  We are the canvas that the Lord desires to show to the world.  It needs to see that, not only is God alive, but that He's still involved in working miracles in the lives of His people.  Let your light shine!  God bless.