The saddest thing that can happen to us is if our faith dies because we feel betrayed in some way by God, by life, or by someone we trusted. Our ability to trust is like a beautiful flower that can be rather easily crushed at times. Often little children illustrate its fragrant bloom. Unhappily, faith or trust can be very difficult to restore, if it is destroyed.
Although faith can be rather fragile, the kind of faith that is anchored in God is as tough as iron.
Real faith, the faith that comes from God, is a gift from the Lord.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)
It does not originate in us; although, we participate in using and growing it. This God-faith does not depend on our strength and grows stronger when tested in the fires of life.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2–4 (NASB95)
Faith in people, institutions, fairness, and equity may die a slow and painful death or be snipped off in an instant.
But the faith in God that comes from God can weather any storm or adversity.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
We never know for sure what kind of faith we have until it is tested.
If we go through a great difficulty that challenges us to our core and our faith dies as a result, perhaps we did not have the kind that comes from God. Perhaps it was merely our best attempt at trusting God and was not up to the task. Maybe God wants us to turn to him in desperation, asking him to impart his kind of faith to us.
We were created by God to believe in him and his promises. Until we find our rest in doing that, we will never be satisfied.
Everyone of us who comes into this world and participates in the mystery of life must believe in someone and something. If betrayal or disillusionment strip away our faith in God, we will lose our anchor and purpose.
If we are not anchored in God, the storms of life will shipwreck us. (1 Timothy 1:18-19)
The Bible defines faith in a mysterious way. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
The English word “substance” is the rendering of the Greek word hupostasis, which means substance, steadiness, or assurance. Other translations use the English words “reality” or “assurance.” The general idea is that our faith proves or points to an assured hidden reality that cannot yet be seen. The faith-filled (faithful) person reasons that if God makes a promise or statement, it must be true. We are not waiting to find out if it is true. We know it immediately…by faith.
Faith knows God’s promise is true right now, even though we might have to wait for it to “come true,” perhaps for a long time.
The Greek word for hope is elpis, which means a confident expectation that something will come to pass, no matter how long I must wait. It is very similar to faith. Some call it stretched out faith. Faith know it has the promise the moment it receives the promise.
Hope keeps that faith alive until the promise becomes our experienced reality.
The English word “evidence” is derived from the Greek word elegchos, which means a proof or test. Our faith “tests” or “proves” what is in our hearts. Do we believe God or not? Some say that it also proves the reality of the thing for which we hope, but do not yet see. My own experience with faith is that its presence in our hearts causes us to “know” that what we believe for will indeed come to pass. It is a supernatural thing. It can be faked in front of other people, but inside we know if we have it or not.
We put faith in all sorts of things, starting with our parents. Children trust their parents’ word, unless and until that trust is betrayed. My wife and agreed that to lie to our young children would be a serious thing, even if it were about such seemingly benign things as Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. I believe that, if we lie to our kids about Santa, it may lead them to later question if Jesus is just another version of Santa? If the Easter bunny is not real, was Jesus’ resurrection? I am convinced that we should be very careful not to take advantage of the faith of little children.
As we mature, our experience with disappointment and disillusionment grows. Many adults become quite cynical (or “hard-hearted” to use the biblical term). This cynicism can invade all our thinking, even toward God and the Bible. This is an evidence of a dead or dying faith. A hardened heart is the most dangerous condition a person can have.
For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” John 12:39–40 (NASB95)
Our hearts can become so hardened that we object to the mere possibility that the Bible is true. The world thinks that the more educated we become, the more reason we have to reject God and the Bible. This may be an outright atheism or merely a rejection of those parts of the Bible we find objectionable for moral or intellectual reasons. The latter is perhaps more insidious because it is not generally recognized as hardness of heart.
Plenty of people reject parts of God’s Word without denying their faith in Christ.
God gave us a deeply seated need to believe. If our hearts are not hard, it is easy for us to believe him and his words. Adam and Eve were duped by a master deceiver into doubting God and believing a lie. Ever since then, people often find it easier to believe a lie than the truth. Knowing this, politicians routinely sling “mud” at their opponents. They understand many will believe their lies.
Children who are blessed with godly parents, who take their responsibility to disciple their children seriously, have a distinct advantage in life. Such parents teach their children to trust in God and his Word. Most children will follow in their parents’ footsteps of faith. Eventually they will face their own decision points in life and must decide if they will continue on that path of faith as adults. We have God’s promise that they will.
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Children who do not have such a godly heritage will have to be intercepted by God somewhere along the path of life if they are ever to know what it means to trust God. Thankfully, that is exactly what the Holy Spirit does as the administrator of the New Covenant. He secretly works to bring to faith those chosen by God from before the creation of the world.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 (NKJV)
It is my firm conviction that once we put our faith in our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit works inside us to cause us to continue in that faith and loyalty to Christ. Some call this the perseverance of the saints. By his grace we will persevere in faith to the end.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB95)
If, however, our faith in God dies, for whatever reason, we will most likely put our faith in something or someone else. We cannot help believing, even if ironically our faith is that there is nothing worth believing. Such an unprovable position acts as justification for a whole group of people to condemn themselves to a joyless life and a hopeless eternity.
The devil also works hard to hobble the faith of God’s children.
The same liar who deceived Adam and Eve is busy trying to sully our simple faith in God.
But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)
The apostle John told his readers to stay away from idols. An idol is anything that detracts from God’s glory, hinders our faith, and works to deceive us.
Anything we believe that fights against simple faith in God and his Word is from the devil.
My question for you, the reader, is this. Has your childlike faith in God’s Word died? Do you think you have become too mature in your understanding to believe as a young child? Have you allowed the devil to convince you that it is okay to use a more “nuanced” interpretation of the Bible that permits you to reject a simple straightforward understanding? If so, I encourage you to ask the Lord to restore your childlike faith.
